Mark 6:51-52

“51. And he went up unto them into the ship; and the wind ceased: and they were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wondered.

52. For they considered not the miracle of the loaves: for their heart was hardened. ”

Is there any such thing as a small miracle?

Or do we just take God’s goodness for granted and esteem some blessings higher than others?

God is so very good to us. Most of the time we fail to identify things in our lives as a blessing from God. We take it for granted that certain things just “should” or “must” happen. But the truth is those things that comfort our lives can be gone in a minute.

We must recognize God’s hand in and on our lives and give him praise for the things he has done.

Looking at 5th and 6th chapters of Mark. We see Jesus working several miracles. All of which are praise worthy – he is a great God! In this instance Jesus had just fed a multitude of over five thousand people with 2 fishes and 5 loaves. After everyone had eaten there was 12 baskets of food remaining. It is interesting to note that God is a God of abundance. He does not give “just enough” he gives you more than enough. You will be equipped to be a blessing to others. Moving right into the next miracle, the people left Jesus alone and began to make their way to the next destination. So Jesus began to walk on the water, saw them rowing the boat, would have gone past them, but the people saw him and became afraid. Jesus entered the boat and the winds ceased. At this the people were in amazement.

The amazing thing is these are the same people who just witnessed Jesus feeding the five thousand. They completely forgot about that miracle. Why? Because their hearts were conditioned to just expect certain things so much so that the “miraculous” aspect was totally lost on them.

We do the same thing today. However, we must be careful to recognize God’s goodness, and to give him praise for it.

How is your heart? Have you taken God’s goodness for granted? Are you giving glory to where it is due? The job you have, the home you live in, the clothes in your closet, the food in your cabinets, the car in you driveway are all examples of God’s goodness. The list is endless. A grateful heart always sees the hand of God on the small things. The things that if they were taken away, would have a huge and possibly devastating impact on our lives.

We tend to recognize God’s hand in larger situations such as God sparing us from or during a tragedy.

But we must remember that the same God that heals and delivers, is the same God that kept the electricity, heat, water, and gas on for us.

A grateful heart is the foundation to receive even greater blessings from God. The grateful heart has eyes open to the simplest moves of God, which also places them in the path for even more blessings from God. The Bible tells us in everything give thanks for this is the will of God (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

Psalms 100 tells us “be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; ”

How is your heart? Are you thankful in all things? Or do you allow the goodness of God to be overshadowed by life?

I encourage you, take a look at you life daily. Consider the blessings of God. Can you recognize them? When you do, take the time to say a quick “thank you” to God. The more you do this, the more you will see God move in your life, and he will add to you because of your grateful heart.