Scripture: Matthew 17:24-27 (ESV)24When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the half-shekel tax went up to Peter and said, "Does your teacher not pay the tax?"
25He said, "Yes." And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying,
"What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or tax? From their sons or from others?" 26And when he said, "From others," Jesus said to him,
"Then the sons are free. 27However, not to give offense to them, go to the sea and cast a hook and take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find a shekel. Take that and give it to them for me and for yourself."
"HE WILL SUPPLY"
I have two rather different, yet related items I picked up in the Holy Land. One is a stone from the Sea of Galilee and the other is a key chain. What they share in common is that both have a fish on them. A unique fish. Its lower jaw juts out prominently. I don’t remember its scientific name, but its common name is the Saint Peter’s fish. It gets that name for its unusual habit of scooping up items off the sea floor with its jaws. These fish have been pulled in and found to have stones, buttons and even coins in its mouth!
The miracle of Peter and the coin in the fish’s mouth is not one we often hear about. It pales perhaps next to the feeding of the 5,000 or the raising of Lazarus, but it has just as important a lesson to teach us. God will supply our needs. Not only the big ones. But the small ones as well. And many times he will meet those needs by using the resources at hand. Whether he uses a little boy’s lunch or a fish with a strange habit of picking coins up off the bottom of the Sea, God cares for us. Open your eyes today to see his marvelous provision.
Discuss: How has God provided miracles in your life?
Prayer: Lord, thank you for meeting our needs. Give us eyes to see life’s small miracles. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
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