When Jesus came to walk amongst His beloved creation He knew exactly where His steps would lead, He knew each misunderstanding He would face, each heart-ache, each moment of hunger, each pain – He knew it all !
He knew that He would be extremely disappointed and that shouts of “Hosanna” (Save us, Saviour) would suddenly change within days. He was acutely aware that most of His friends who had been with Him during the good times, when baskets of food overflowed and there were so many crowds that He had been pushed onto a boat to find space.
With those momentous steps soon approaching, His mind must have reminded Himself that almost all of those “followers” would abandon Him, when He faced His most difficult moments, that even His closest friends wouldn’t be able to stand with Him, when His heart and mind were in unbelievable turmoil and utter distress and, at the time it appeared He was at His lowest and weakest, on His knees crying out to see if the cup of suffering could pass, at that moment when it appeared things couldn’t get worse, He would be betrayed by a kiss given by a chosen friend.
He knew that those who should have stood up for justice would be corrupted by power and greed. He had perfect foresight, that those who should have spoken truth would rather pour scorn on the innocent. With certainty, He knew that those in authority would be too frightened to use their power correctly because of fear of losing that power. Finally, those who had, or would have, benefited from His every quietly spoken word and each gentle action in their lives would suddenly shout, yell and scream and would perpetuate such an apparent hindrance of His plans ….
He knew every disappointment that would come
He knew His true strength of Holy, forgiving Love, would apparently be used against Him
He knew every harsh word that would be spoken by those who chose to hate Him
He knew every unkind whisper that would leave the lips of a friend
He knew every heart-ache
He knew every agonising pain
He knew the moment He would surrender everything in His giving of that final breath.
He knew.
And yet, He carried that knowledge through every day of healing, of teaching, of preaching, of sharing love, laughter and joy with those who would break His heart, but He never let that knowledge stop Him from giving.
God is gracious to us. We don’t know our whole story in advance (sometimes we still don’t know what happened even with hindsight!)
Some days are difficult.
Some weeks drag on
Some months (and even years) seem to see different problems pile up, one on top of another, until we feel like we are on our knees – all energy apparently completely spent…..
The same God who endured pain, suffering, betrayal, harsh words from family, friends and foe, who innocently bore the unfair burden placed upon Himself, chooses to still walk with us knowing what will happen so that we can have His strength when we are weak.
We can be filled to overflowing with His love whenever we encounter hatred.
We can embody His Peace when the world is in chaos and breaks down in violence (or words as well as action)
We can be immersed by His everlasting Joy when our hearts are broken
We can be cradled by His Gentleness amidst the whirlwind of this harsh world
We can be filled with His kindness when we face cruelty
We can be armoured in His goodness in this wicked world where evil often seems to hold a throne
We have Him within us to shine forth with self-control, humility, honesty and integrity, when selfishness, pride, deception, corruption, deceit and hypocrisy try to darken the whole world.
In the utter darkness of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, the Light of the World shines out even brighter.
We often face our own “Maundy Thursday” when we face the loss of friends (through death or betrayal), when our burden is too heavy and even our friends fall silent…
We often face a “Good Friday” that seems to hold everything bad (injustice, brutality, humiliation and unbearable physical and mental pain).
Romans 8:28
And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
In the whole of eternity, the words and actions of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday will be glorified and magnified. Known from the beginning of time, when sin entered a perfect world and a solution was formulated. Known. In a kingdom where every tear is wiped away, every injury and disability vanishes….one body alone remains scarred….the scars on the hands and feet of Jesus are eternally magnified and glorified.
The very worst becomes the very best.
So when we wish we knew what was going to happen, when we feel like we are too weak to face this current situation or to continue enduring the unfair, harsh words and actions of others, let us pause for a moment.
Would it really be easier to know every difficulty we will face before things work out ? Would we really want to know everything in advance – or would we feel life became boring with everything laid out like a book we’d already read?
Sometimes it might be better to simply take hold of the hand of the person who does know what is coming and who also knows without a doubt that, with His help, we will come through to the other side of the darkest valleys or loneliness mountain peak, and we should simply let Him guide, comfort and protect us with His shepherd’s rod and staff until we find our green pastures and still water.
Monica Yearsley
ANOINTED FOR CHRIST - Miriam Jacob 