God's Good Purposes

They "rejected God's purpose for themselves" (Luke 7:30) This was the Pharisees and the so called experts in the law. They refused to be baptized by John. They saw no need to repent, no need to turn their lives around. They had it all together. Everyone knew that. Life was good. Why would they need to change? 

Jesus saw it differently, as He did so often. He saw their false security, their smugness. He knew how lost they were in their pride and complacency. The sad thing is they missed it. They missed it big time. They missed all God had for them, His good purposes for their lives. 

Sobering. Scary how easy it is to dig in our heals and cling to our little kingdoms, our comfortable little worlds. I don't want to miss God's good purpose for my life.  I want His Kingdom come, His will be done and that starts in my heart. It begins with understanding that His purposes are good, that He loves us and has our very best interest in mind. Repentance is merely turning to Him. He takes care of the rest.

My prayer from the Psalms this morning, speaks to what turning our hearts to Him looks like. Amazing how thousands of years ago, David wrote this psalm that is so relevant for me, today. No matter what my life looks like, this is the answer.

Unto You, O LORD, do I bring my life.

O my God, I trust, lean on, rely on, and am confident in You. 

Let me not be put to shame 

or [my hope in You] be disappointed; 

let not my enemies triumph over me.

Yes, let none who trust 

and wait hopefully 

and look for You 

be put to shame or be disappointed; 

let them be ashamed who forsake the right 

or deal treacherously without cause.

Show me Your ways, O LORD; 

teach me Your paths. 

Guide me in Your truth and faithfulness 

and teach me, 

for You are the God of my salvation; 

for You [You only and altogether] 

do I wait [expectantly] all the day long.

Psalm 25:1-5 AMP

Take Courage!

Immediately after this, Jesus insisted that His disciples get back into the boat and head across the lake to Bethsaida, while He sent the people home. After telling everyone good-bye, He went up into the hills by himself to pray. 

Late that night, the disciples were in their boat in the middle of the lake, and Jesus was alone on land. He saw that they were in serious trouble, rowing hard and struggling against the wind and waves. 

About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water. He intended to go past them, but when they saw Him walking on the water, they cried out in terror, thinking He was a ghost. They were all terrified when they saw Him. But Jesus spoke to them at once. “Don’t be afraid,” He said. “Take courage! I am here!” 

Mark 6:45-50

Jesus needed to get away to commune with His Father. He had been pouring His life out. In His humanity, He needed to be refueled and refreshed. After all He had done, He had to be bone tired but it wasn't sleep He sought. He needed to be loved on by His Father. This withdrawing to be alone with God was a regular habit of His. We see it all over the gospels, tucked away here and there. It is a habit we too need to cultivate with consistency. How could we need time with God any less than Jesus?

What really touched me, reading this, is Jesus saw from afar that the disciples were in trouble. The distance was nothing to Him. It was the middle of the night. The darkness was not a problem. The fact that He saw them is important to me. I believe He sees me too. When life gets hard, knowing He has His eye on me makes all the difference in the world. 

His disciples were struggling against the storm yet He didn't go right out to them.  He waited til the wee hours of the morning to come strolling across the lake. He knew they were going to be okay. He didn't even seem to be planning to stop until they freaked out and thought He was a ghost. So He did stop. He told them  to take courage.  He was there. There was no need to fear. 

This was the learning curve they were on. He was teaching them that they were okay. He had their backs whether He was physically present with them or not. After the resurrection we see these men had learned well that they could rely on Jesus, even though He wasn't with them in body any more. But in this story? They were still learning. The exciting thing is we see Peter got a glimpse of what courage could really look like. He walked on the water during this time on the lake at 3:00am! Jesus was patiently teachingHis followers, to be world changers. 

He is teaching me too. He wants me to take courage. I am so thankful that when I am alone with Him, He says to me, "Take courage. It is I."