Friday, July 31, 2009

More Like Him



The Lord very kindly reinforces the lessons He is teaching me. He knows how easy it is for me to have one of those "Aha moments" and then quickly forget the very thing He impressed on my heart.

He has been showing me that His will for me can be found in the every day things He allows into my well-planned day. Yesterday my Bible reading was about the miracle of Jesus feeding the five thousand, but it was the verses that preceded it that stood out to me.

"When the apostles returned, they told Jesus everything they had done. Then He slipped quietly away with them toward the town of Bethsaida. But the crowds found out where He was going, and they followed Him. He welcomed them and taught them about the Kingdom of God, and He healed those who were sick."
Luke 9: 10-11


Evidently Jesus had planned to get away for a little while - to walk quietly with His friends to the next town. They must have all been weary having poured themselves out in service. Jesus especially, had so little time to Himself - so few moments when there weren't constant demands from an ever growing crowd of people.

So they slipped away, and before they could begin to enjoy the peace and quiet they found themselves being followed once again by the crowds. Jesus could have refused to see them. He could have explained that He just needed a little time to Himself and would meet them later in the town. He could have gotten annoyed and sent them away.

He didn't do any of those things. He simply did what He always did - the will of His Father. This interruption in His day was not a source of annoyance to Him, it was an opportunity to minister.

We have a wonderful Savior who really has experienced everything, the little things as well as the most difficult, we will ever have to face in this life, and He always did it with such grace. The miraculous thing is that by His death and resurrection and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, I too have that grace available in my life. I must simply choose to walk in it.

"For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace,that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need."
Hebrews 4: 15-16


Blessings,
Linda