2026 Reading Plan Reflections - Day 20

Imagine hearing the news of a loved one’s death. Grief settles in. Your instinct is to withdraw, to be alone, to find quiet space to process what you’ve lost. In moments like that, the image of an empty cup fits. You’re drained. Turned inward. Not much left to give.

That’s where Jesus begins in Matthew 14—after hearing of John the Baptist’s death.

Jesus withdraws. He seeks solitude. He gets into a boat and crosses the water. But when he arrives, the crowds are already there. And instead of sending them away, Jesus heals. Jesus teaches. Jesus feeds. He pours himself out—and then teaches his disciples to do the same.

So how does that happen? Wasn’t his cup empty?

Verse 13 is the quiet key. Not so much for what it says, but for what we know it implies. Every time Jesus goes off by himself in the Gospels, we know what’s happening. He’s praying. He’s communing with the Father. He’s being filled.

That boat ride mattered.

It may have been brief. It may have felt interrupted. But it was enough. By the time Jesus steps onto the shore, his cup is full—not because circumstances improved, but because God met him in the crossing.

And from that place of being filled, Jesus pours out generously—spiritually and physically. Healing. Teaching. Bread for the hungry. It echoes Moses in the wilderness. Once again, God provides bread from heaven. Once again, God shows up to sustain his people.

God still works that way.

Not always by removing grief. Not by eliminating exhaustion. But by meeting us in the quiet crossings and giving us enough to keep going.

Pay attention to your crossings. Where are the in-between spaces in your life—commutes, walks, pauses—that could become places of prayer?
Don’t wait to feel “full.” Jesus poured out because he trusted the Father to provide what was needed.
Practice honest prayer. Bring God your emptiness, not a polished version of yourself.
Pour out what you’ve received. Even a small act of compassion can become bread in God’s hands.