Come Again? a devotional thought

In Mark 8:1-10 we have the story of the "Feeding of the Four Thousand."   This story has always made me wonder, because it's the second time Jesus has performed this specific sign in Mark's Gospel.  Back in 6:30-44 he miraculously fed 5000 people with 5 loaves and 2 fish; and then in 8:1-10, there's a hungry crowd of 4000; and the thing that gets me, is how the disciples are just as clueless this time as they were the first time.  I mean: he tells them he wants to feed the crowd, and they say almost the exact same thing they said back in Chapter 6: where will we get enough bread for everyone?  They were there in Chapter 6, when 5 loaves and 2 small fish fed 5000, and yet here, only a couple chapter's latter, they're still scratching their heads: "Gee, Jesus, how are you gonna get us out of this one?"

It's funny, right after this miracle, the Pharisees come to him, asking for a miraculous sign from heaven, and all Mark says is: "Jesus groaned deeply in his spirit" (the Greek word there is: "aarrrrghhhh!").  No wonder, though, the demand for a sign is so troubling to him: he's already done two, back to back, and no one got it, not even his disciples.  Would one more miraculous sign really make the difference?

As I reflect on all this, it strikes me that I'm as slow to learn, sometimes, as those disciples are.  I mean:  I've seen him do some pretty amazing things in my life, in the past, and still sometimes when it looks like only an amazing things is gonna get me out of whatever it is I'm facing today, still, I scratch my head and say: "Gee, Jesus, how are you going to get us out of this one?" May God remind you and I today, in a deep profound way, of the past wonders he's worked in our lives, and may that remembrance be a great source of strength for whatever you or I need to face today.