In the Meantime

Then Jesus came from Galilee

to be baptized by John.

But John tried to deter Him, saying, 

"I need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?"

Jesus replied, "Let it be so now;

it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness."

Then John consented.

Matthew 3:13-14

Jesus came. He was present with John and with the people being baptized. John knew He was the One. 

But Jesus wanted to be baptized. What? John thought that was pretty much wrong and told Jesus so. Seriously, why would the Messiah need to be baptized? The Holy One of God? And then John, knew he was just a man, and not a perfect one at that; he didn't feel qualified to baptize Jesus. Not at all. This seemed like a bad idea.

Jesus didn't argue with what John was seeing as improper. Instead He answered, "Let it be so now." This seemingly improper thing was proper for the now of that time and that place. Proper for the big picture plan God had in mind for Jesus' mission to rescue the world. It was the right thing to do even though it didn't seem right. And John got to be part of that plan. 

There is comfort in the words, let it be now. This assures me that in the messy, uncomfortable, even painful places of my life, things can seem wrong. Terribly wrong. Yet He is with me. There is a "let it be for now" in my life. In all of our lives. My job is to lean in and trust God knows what's going on. He has things well in hand, even in the now of my life, just as He did back then.

So the big question is, am I willing to trust Him without fully understanding? Do I consent to doing things His way (as best I can) even when it's hard? I know He hears me when I come to Him and ask about these things but often the how and the why are so shrouded. The future is concealed. I only see the way through, day by day. How it all comes together is foggy. Those are the places to hone my faith. Places where the rubber hits the road.

There is comfort in the words, "Then Jesus came...." He was there. And He is here too. He is with me in the now of my life. And for that I am so grateful. And I am learning that that is enough. His Presence with me.

Help me Lord, to have a heart like John's. Willing. Trusting. He was able to identify things that weren't right. They weren't as he imagined them to be when Jesus showed up. It is the imagining of how I think things should be that gets in my way. John did what God asked of him. He got to be part of the plan. That is what I too want.

Help me to walk in faith, trusting that You are at work and there will come a day when we will see the ultimate fulfillment of righteousness. In the meantime, thank You that You are with me in the now. Day by day. I am so thankful!

The Broken Pieces

When they had all had enough, He said to His disciples, Gather up now the fragments  (the broken pieces that are left over), so that nothing may be lost and wasted. So accordingly they gathered them up, and they filled twelve [small hand] baskets with fragments left over by those who had eaten from the five barley loaves.       John 6:13

More lessons from lingering on the hillside with Jesus.  
From their "not enough", they were instructed to gather the leftovers so they would not be wasted. Leftovers! 5 loaves, 2 fish and 5,000 hungry people. Jesus' life in and through us is so amazing that from our "not enough" He gives us more than what we started with. This is only possible through the Hands that created something from nothing. Creator. Life giver. Life sustainer. 

Where do I go with this? I can only marvel that I come to Him hungry and needy. I clamor for His attention. Desperate at times. I lay everything down, at His feet. My little loaves. My few fishes. As best I can anyway. This is what I have. That's it. Not much. It never seems enough. 

Yet He has things in mind. Always. Good things. It may not feel like that in the crucible of the challenges of life. But looking back I can always see how He multiplied nothing and got something. I always have pieces to pick up from my brokenness. A basketful.

Today as I read in the Psalms, I came upon a verse that used to be a prayer. A heartfelt prayer for someone I deeply love who was in trouble. Someone who was lost in a world of hurt. Reading that verse I realized that this verse is now a memorial. It is a remembrance of God doing something incredible. It was a miracle. The miracle of His intervention. The miracle of new direction,  new life and hope. Not an overnight thing but something of great substance. Something that has born fruit over time. Overflow. A basketful of leftovers, broken pieces being used for the glory of God.

That is what God does. He takes our lives, our broken pieces and makes them more. When we take the time to recount what we learned, how we grew through our trials and most of all how He was with us always, we can see that we end up with so much more. Our souls are enlarged. More of His life is formed in us as we have learned little by little to live His way. 

Our pain is not squandered. Only in His Hands, is this possible. He can create abundance out of our losses, our heartache, our trials. The pain is never wasted if we surrender it to Him.

Lord help me see what You have done in my life. To see the basket FULL of Your grace in my life. The big things yes but more, help me see the little things. The daily miracles, the moments of grace tucked in to the corners of my day. I thank You, that with You, all things are possible. With You there is  overflow. More than enough. Abundance.