In the ESL class I teach through my church (Sunset Bible Church in University Place, WA), we are studying the Gospel of John. Last night, we had an interesting discussion about how God works.
The phrase "but his time had not yet come," referring to the time Jesus was to be crucified, is repeated often in the book of John. It is given as an explanation of why the crowds, the Pharisees & other religious leaders, and even the temple guards were unable to seize Jesus - even though they purposed to.
From a human standpoint, particularly from the perspective of those wanting to do the "seizing," there were obvious explanations as to why they didn't follow through with their plans. The Jewish crowds were divided... some believing Jesus to be the Christ as his miracles attested, and others questioning his divinity knowing his earthly parents to be quite human. The religious leaders, knowing the precarious position they were in, did not want to lose their authority with the crowd. If they arrested Jesus, half of the crowd would turn on them.
But we know from the text that the ultimate reason Jesus wasn't seized earlier was because it was not yet his time... and until it was, no one could lay a hand on him (Jn 7:30). In fact, even after being warned not to, Jesus sometimes goes to places where he might be in danger. One example of this is in John 11:7-10 where Jesus delays going up to see Mary and Martha after their brother, Lazarus, had died:
Then after this He said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again." The disciples said to Him, "Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone You, and are You going there again?" Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him."
We are reminded again that it is not about the plans of man, but about the plans of God. God will accomplish HIS plan on HIS time table for HIS purposes. He will not fail. If Jesus could trust the Father to carry out his perfect plan in his perfect time, despite the menacing crowds and dangerous circumstances, so can we!
God continues to work out his plan in our lives, leaving us with the confident assurance that while we ought to live in wisdom and obedience to the Lord, it is the Lord who brings about the results of his plan. We are to rely on HIM, not on methodologies for success. We can teach our kids about the amazing grace of God and be the best parents we can be, but ultimately some kids will follow him and some will turn away... and God is at work in both. We live rightly before the Lord and yet some will endure unspeakable suffering while others seem fairly comfortable. It is God who is at work in both. We try for years to have a baby and fail, but those who don't want to have a baby, get pregnant from a one night stand and abort their babies without a second thought. It is God who is at work in both... accomplishing his plan and making things beautiful in HIS time.
1 comment:
the thought that nothing can happen before His time is often one of vast comfort to me. it's a relief to know that even despite all my planning and working towards a goal it's not entirely up to me as if i were the sole executor of my destiny. and if i "fail" to accomplish what i'm trying to do that doesn't necessarily mean it's all my fault. we are often so arrogant in making plans without much thought to God's timing or purposes as if our lives and future were entirely dependent upon us. thanks for the post and the reminder.
Post a Comment