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“If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him.”   Matthew 27:42

On a crowded pier in Florida one day, I heard part of a conversation between two men who were walking past me. One of them said, “What has God ever done for me?” As he melted into the crowd, I knew what God had done for him, but I didn’t try to chase him down and tell him.

Two thousand years earlier, three men hung on crosses. Some of the same people who had carpeted Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem with palm branches, who had shouted glad Hosannahs, now hated and scoffed at Him. Why? Because He hadn’t done for them what they wanted—relief from the Romans. They didn’t understand that His hanging there in agony was for their sake, the greatest gift anyone could have given them.

Are we guilty of the same thing? We pray for a situation to turn around in our favor, and it doesn’t. We become angry with God. We pray earnestly for someone’s healing, and they don’t recover. It must be God’s fault. We pray for funds to pay for something we know would be beneficial, but instead, an emergency arises that takes the money we had saved so far. Why isn’t God listening?

The people at the foot of the cross were asking Jesus to prove himself on their terms. “IF He is the King of Israel…” But Jesus isn’t a circus dog whose job it is to jump through hoops at someone else’s whim. Jesus is who He is. He is the Good Shepherd, the Lion of Judah, the Creator and Redeemer. You take Him or leave Him on His terms, and it’s the most important decision you’ll ever make.

Back to the fellow on the pier—I pray that the Lord has opened his heart, and that someone has had the opportunity in the years since then to tell him exactly what God has done for him. But that same attitude is repeated millions of times in people all over the planet. If only we could peel the blinders off those people. If only they could understand His unfailing love and grace!

“Father, we ask that our trust in You will deepen each day as we mature in our faith. Remind us that You are not an on-demand benefactor on our terms, but a gracious God whose ways are higher than our ways. Give us peace and an immovable trust that will weather every bump in our path. And give us a burning desire to share You with others. We thank You in the name of Jesus.”

For His Glory
 

Cherie Harbridge Williams
TRBC Women’s Life