Suffering

He said to them, “The Son of Man is going to  be delivered into the hands of men. They will kill him and after three days he will rise. “ But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it.  Mark 9:31-32 NIV

Peter, James and John had recently witnessed the Transfiguration.  God the Father had said, “This is my Son, whom I love.  Listen to Him.” Now Jesus is talking about being killed by men. How could the disciples put together the ideas that Jesus was the Beloved Son and that he would die violently. Surely anyone blessed by God would be protected from such a fate.  Where did that leave them?  Would they also be killed? Was part of their reluctance to ask Jesus for clarification because they didn’t want to hear the answer?

I don’t like to read passages in the Bible that remind me that I will suffer, that I need to be willing to sacrifice, that life will have its problems and sorrows.  I want to be in a glory-land of blinding light and supernatural manifestations of God’s love for me.

Leave

When they came  to Jesus, they saw the man who had  been possessed by the legion of demons sitting there dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid….Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region.  Mark 5:15, 17 NIV

I find the reaction of the people so strange.  A man who was insane is brought back to a healthy mind and the reaction is fear.  What were they afraid of? Where they afraid that Jesus could transform them?

Were they afraid of the power of Jesus?

They plead with Jesus to leave.

Sad to say, that is still the reaction of many people when presented with the Gospel.  Please leave, please don’t talk about it, please don’t tell me about salvation and forgiveness and God’s love.

What strange creatures are people that they should reject and fear such a wonderful gift.

No Cowering

He answered, “I heard you in the garden , and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”

Genesis 3:10 NIV

Adam is afraid of God.  He knows he has sinned and fears God’s judgement which well he should.

The Bible tells us to fear God because he will judge us and he has the power to destroy both body and soul in Hell.  However, what Adam has forgotten is how much God cares for him.  Has he forgotten about the beautiful garden that God provided for him? That God gave him a wife as a companion and all the animals as his own? 

It is easy to fear God’s judgement and forget about his care for us.  His judgement is there to bring us back in alignment with him, so he can bless us.  He wants to bless us. 

When we run and hide and shut our eyes and ears to him, we totally miss out on the blessings.

When we sin, yes, we are subject to judgement.  But He has given us the mechanisms for repentance and forgiveness.  He always wants to bless us.  He doesn’t want us cowering in a hole.

Look to God

Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.  Rather be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

Matthew 10:28 NIV

God wants me to keep a big perspective, a spiritual perspective.

This is a stern verse but it is only there for my good.  God knows how easily we are overcome with fear.

He wants us to shift our eyes off the things or people we fear and refocus on him.  If our child was about to step into danger, we would speak sharply and strongly to get them to pay attention to us and avoid the danger.  God knows that as long as we keep our focus on him that we will be safe.  Our bodies are only here on earth for a short time anyway and, while we live here, if our thoughts are on God he will keep our soul from despair even when things are difficult. God is the only one with real power.

My Morning Moment

 So do not fear, for I am with you;

Do not be dismayed, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you and help you;

I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.  Isaiah 41:10 NIV

Assurance  brings peace.

Assurance in the sustaining power of God gives me courage.

God will strengthen me and help me.  He doesn’t need me to advise him, remind him or otherwise insinuate that God doesn’t know what to do.  He promises that unilaterally he will, not might, strengthen me and help me in whatever way I need help.

God may choose to give me good health, or He may choose to allow illness, but either way will always be in order to strengthen my faith and help me to be more like Him.

He promises to uphold me.  We are not equal partners.  He is the one who is sustaining, supporting, protecting, and caring for me.  Only He knows how to do that properly.  I need to pray for wisdom so that I can see Him at work.

How foolish to be dismayed when God has promised to always have the best for me.