It is easy to reflect on how differently I would have reacted to the death of Yeshua (Jesus), than those who had lived and worked with him in the first century. Statements come to mind such as – ‘if only they would have remembered what He said about dying and being raised to life then their despair would not have engulfed their minds and hearts…’
Its not the only occasion where disciples of great leaders have faced contradictory and challenging situations. Take Mosheh (Moses) for example, who had led the Israelite nation – including the Jews and all other ‘sojourners’ that entered into God’s covenant whilst living in Egypt – on a wilderness journey culminating in a life threatening situation. Can you imagine being one of Moses’ disciples, who had followed every word (ok with some complaining in some of the ranks), but then to see a great expanse of water ahead, knowing a great and ferocious army was behind and soon to overtake and destroy you?
Turning the hands of time forward approximately 3,500 years, there may be many people now living who for different reasons are facing real uncertainty in their lives, or perhaps extreme threats of physical violence, marginalisation or persecution due to race or beliefs. Certainly across the globe we can all resonate in varying degrees, with the concern and potential threat of the recent pandemic and how this has and might affect us and our families.
…and to bring us right up to date we now have witnessed a very divisive US election, causing some to now struggle to see God’s hand in the current outcomes.
But, with God nothing is impossible.
As the entire Israelite nation gathered before the Red Sea, believing that their God, YHWH, had now forsaken them in the wilderness to again become slaves of the fearful Egyptian regime or of course worse to be slain there before the waters; as the disciples gathered together for three days smitten and pressed down by the circumstances that defied their fundamental belief system in the Messiah, that He would indeed be King of their people the Jews, this is when God Almighty moved, and the miracles happened.
When the darkness surrounds and hope is a dim and distant feeling, God is faithful to His word and His truth. All that glitters in not gold; and when darkness prevails, hope still abides and is never lost.
Even when righteousness has been evicted from the corridors of global power, when the very word of God spoken by His prophets is being contradicted by worldly events and the schemes of man, God’s Word shall come to pass and not return unto Him void, it shall accomplish all that which it was sent to achieve.
Even so come Lord Jesus.