Jaw-dropping Jewels about Jesus
Rarely does Jesus, God the Son, do exactly what we expect of Him. It seems odd that He so frequently surprises us, given that He never changes. Hebrews 13:8 makes this absolute statement: “Jesus the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” Still, though He is blessedly consistent in His goodness, Jesus does unforeseen things. Even when He does what is expected, He does not always do it in the way that we anticipate. Let us join with Jesus on a jaw-dropping journey. (I will be using this opening paragraph for each of the brief messages in this series. The following material will change daily.)
The fact that “the prayers of all saints” are “before the throne” of God (Revelation 8:3-4) should greatly encourage us to continue in prayer. We are to “ask any thing according to His will” (I John 5:14), as we studied yesterday. An instructive negative example of praying contrary to our God’s good will is found in Jeremiah 37:1-3. Weak King Zedekiah had been told by God to submit to the Babylonians, for God was bringing necessary judgment upon Judah (what was left of Israel) for their idolatry. Instead, the king asked Jeremiah to pray for him as he ignored God’s command and sought an alliance with Egypt! The prophet, of course, refused to contradict the revealed will of God. Soon, the Temple, Jerusalem, and the entire nation were destroyed. Zedekiah’s Zeitgeist was doomed to failure, for man’s ideas can never supersede God’s plans. An appropriate prayer at that time – in fact, one that is always appropriate – is this prayer of Jesus: “Not My will, but Thine, be done” (Luke 22:42b).