"If we let Him go on like this, everyone will believe in Him,
and then the Romans will come and
take away both our place and our nation."
John 11:48
This was the religious folks talking here. The ones in charge of the things of God. They were so far off base they were plotting to kill the Son of God. I never could understand how they thought this would work as this was actually on the heals of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. It just shows how blinded we can become. It is the epitome of religion gone bad and the world reeks of it.
It is a reminder that I need to walk closely with the Lord, listen intently, and hold loosely to all things. It is all His. His place, His nation. That is where they got it wrong. They thought it was theirs. They had themselves comfortably ensconced in their own little kingdoms. They worked hard to keep the status quo. All in the name of God. They lost sight of the big picture even when He was standing right in front of their eyes.
There is a big lesson here. We need to remember Whose Kingdom we live in. Whose we are. That is actually, the wonderful part. As His, we can rest. There is no striving. We can trust we have a good Shepherd Who provides good pasture for us. He determines the pasture, and we certainly don't own it. We just know that the Shepherd has our best interest in mind. He is our provider. Always.
God help me to hold loosely. To be working and resting with You in all I do. With You and not for You. To know when to let go and when to hang on. Give me wisdom Lord. Thank You for being my good Shepherd. Thank You for Your guidance, Your leading, Your great provision, and Your amazing love.
