In Mark 6, Jesus and His disciples, along with thousands of other people, are in a remote place. Because it’s late in the day, the disciples urge Jesus to send the people away so they can buy some food for themselves.

You remember the story–Jesus instructs the disciples to find out how much food they have available. They’re able to turn up five loaves of bread and two fish. Jesus then multiplies the food and is able to feed over 5,000 people.

On a side note, the pastor at the church I grew up in explained the story by saying that everyone began to share the food they’d brought with them. Jesus hadn’t really multiplied the food. The real miracle was sharing. Maybe that kind of teaching was one of the reasons I was able to attend that church up until leaving for college without ever really understanding what it meant to have a relationship with Christ. But anyway…

Fast forward to Mark 8. I’m not sure how much time has elapsed since Mark 6, but it really doesn’t matter. Let’s pick up the story beginning with verse 1:

During those days another large crowd gathered. Since they had nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way, because some of them have come a long distance.”

His disciples answered, “But where in this remote place can anyone get enough bread to feed them?”

Let’s stop there. Does anything strike you as funny? Or sad?

Whether it’s been two days, two weeks or two months since Jesus fed the 5,000, wouldn’t you think the disciples would remember? He took five loaves and two fish and fed over 5,000 people. The disciples distributed the food. They picked up the leftovers. They saw it all happen.

And now the best they can come up with is, “But where in this remote place can anyone get enough bread to feed them?”

I don’t see that any of the twelve having a better response. Their question seems to be the consensus wisdom of the group. No one said, “Hey wait! Jesus! Just do that thing again! You know, that thing where you made all that food from nothing! Remember that?! Do You think You could just do that again?”

Now here comes the really sad part. I’m as bad as the disciples. Worse even.

God meets a financial need, but I forget about it and worry again the next time I’m in a tight situation.

I see something I don’t like, but can’t control. God worked it out last time, but I still get worried, angry and anxious.

God pointed out my sin to me, but over time I allow it to creep back into my life.

I was worried about one of my children. God spoke to me about the situation. A year later, I was worried about the same child and the same issue. In a very clear and unmistakable way, God spoke to me again, saying the same thing He had a year earlier.

You would think the disciples wouldn’t be so spiritually and mentally dull. But who am I to talk?

Do you wrestle with this, too?

How do you remember what God has said and done in your life?