Jesus and his disciples were on their way to the synagogue on the Sabbath. The disciples were hungry, so they picked some corn and ate it. The Pharisees saw this and rebuked them. But one point in this story I had never considered before was that Jesus, the miracle worker, didn’t perform a miracle for his closest followers. They had to work for their food, like anyone else. And the fact is that on their way to the synagogue, they passed a cornfield where they were able to feed themselves. Perhaps they could have taken a different path, but they walked a path of provision.
If we consider our needs, perhaps we are walking through a path of provision that we don’t seem to notice, because we’re expecting or hoping for a huge miracle from God. And the miracle is right in front of us. Let’s take a closer look at our surroundings and see what God has already provided for us. Maybe we’re just not using his provisions appropriately. Maybe the provisions God has provided aren’t the ones we want or expect, but they’re what is at hand.
You can read the story about the disciples picking corn in Matthew 12.
Jesus didn’t make sure his disciples went from rags to riches because they were sharing his Good News story to the multitudes. He didn’t brush off all their troubles just because they were his inner circle. They still fished for their meals and ate around the early morning campfires. They still broke bread in various places. They still had to provide for their every day needs, unless people in the towns they traveled to helped them along the way. These disciples weren’t wealthy people. They lived hand to mouth.
When Jesus was fasting in the desert for forty days, he didn’t call down food from heaven to soothe his hunger. Oh, Satan was right on his heels the entire time, offering Jesus the keys to the kingdom and so much more. Jesus refused all the advances of Satan and came out victorious. Satan couldn’t hold a candle to Jesus, and they both knew it. But Satan didn’t give up trying to defeat Jesus. Satan’s game was victory over his archenemy, and he couldn’t win. And he never will. Jesus is the ultimate victor in all that Satan throws at us. We have only to resist and refuse to bow to Satan’s wishes.
You can read about Jesus being tempted in the desert in Matthew 4:1-11.
When Jesus was betrayed by his hand-picked disciple, Judas, in the Garden of Gethsemane, he could have called down angels to save himself. But he didn’t. He went with his accusers and was arrested, tried and beaten, and eventually crucified. He could have saved himself, but he didn’t because he knew his purpose in life was to die for all mankind. He couldn’t and wouldn’t betray his Father’s will.
You can read about how Jesus handled the betrayal of Judas in Matthew 26:47-56.
Jesus’ ministry didn’t revolve around making life easy and simple for people who followed him. When Jesus was hanging on the cross, he could have called down angels to save himself. But he didn’t. Instead, he died alone for you and me. He didn’t even try to save himself. His purpose was to redeem us from our sins.
“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9
How would Scripture have been fulfilled if Jesus had rescued his disciples every time they ran into a problem? How would Scripture be fulfilled if God called down legions of angels to pull us out of every risky situation we find ourselves in? Life happens. And at times, that means we’re in trouble. At times, that means we have to face the consequences for saying or doing an inappropriate thing. At times, that means we have to turn the cheek when others have offended us. God doesn’t pull us out of every troubling situation just because he loves us. He walks with us through those trying times.
Do we expect God to do everything for us just because we’ve repented of our sins? Just because he loves us and will always love us, does that give us the right to demand things of him? We know he answers prayers. He always answers our prayers, but not always in the way we want. That doesn’t mean the prayer isn’t answered.
I guess that begs the question. Are you ever disappointed with God? Are you ever upset that God isn’t doing something for you the way you want it done? Does it make you angry? Or disillusioned? Does it cause you to turn your back on him? Or, does it force you to grow? Does your disappointment cause you to search the Scriptures in a way that you have never done in the past? Does it cause you to call out to God more than usual?
God isn’t a magician, nor is he a genie in a bottle. Blink three times and you get your wish. No. He doesn’t work that way. God works in mysterious ways his wonders to perform. And yes. God is a mystery. There is no way we can fully understand the One who always has been and always will be, the One who never began and will never end. We will never fully understand the God of the universe. And we just have to be ok with that. His ways are higher than our ways.
As the wicked are hurt by the best things, so the godly are bettered by the worst. ~William Jenkyn
Mercy for the Day 