March 2, 2010 - Mark 15

Key Verse:

And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" - which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

(Mark 15:34)


Central Truth:

Sometimes life is scary; but one thing is for sure, God has a plan.
IT'S NOT ABOUT ME
For the last few weeks, it has seemed like everything is going wrong. The car has problems, the kids need new cleats, the check that was supposed to be here didn't come, and the power bill was outrageous. I look around and think, "God, what have I done wrong? I go to church, pay tithes, volunteer? Do I have to sleep at the church every Saturday night or mow the preacher's lawn to get a little relief around here?"
But then, as I read over my chapter this week, it slapped me right between the eyes. It's not all about me. I can try to make it all about me; but God has a plan, and most of the time, his plan and mine aren't going to match up perfectly. It's like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole: without taking a little off of the sides and sacrificing an important part of the square, it probably won't work.

Now, does that mean that God won't let us make our mistakes? Absolutely not. Our way just won't work out like we want it to. Things will occur until He can steer us back on track for His plan, or we will just waller around in our pity until we seek His will and realize what we need to do.

In Mark 15, Pontius Pilate had the opportunity to stand up for a man who had performed miracles of healing and provision, but that wouldn't have been the popular decision. So, Pontius tried to pass his unwillingness to stand up for what was right on others by asking what they wanted to do with Jesus. Pontius was worried about himself, but it wasn't about him. Maybe Pontius ignored the all the flat chariot wheels and tax collection notices. Maybe he stayed his own path and didn't listen to the angels that may have come and tried to prepare him, but I think God knew Pontius's heart well enough to know that he wouldn't stand up for Jesus. I think God gave him a chance, and Pontius blew it.

Now, to put the things that I am whining about into perspective, I look to the time that Jesus asks why God has forsaken Him. Here Jesus is, in the ninth hour of punishment, being brutally beaten, mocked, cursed at, and hung on a cross. He had cuts and bruises all over his body, a crown of thorns on his head, and nails in his hands and feet. All the while he was beaten, his faith remained untouchable, but then there comes this moment before he takes his last breath that he cries out, "My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?" It was at this moment that Jesus bore all of the sins of the world. My sins. Your sins. God can't be a part of that darkness; so my guess is that maybe he turned his head at this point. Jesus had never experienced sin, but now he had a world full of sin on his back. God didn't leave Him. He had to allow it to happen so that I could be forgiven. So that you could be forgiven.

I ask God why my car breaks down. I ask God why life isn't easier. But if life was that easy, I might not be able to reach someone through a devotion. I might not connect with someone on a personal level who thinks that no one else out there has the same problems. I might not invite them to church because they thought that I was unapproachable and wouldn't understand. It may not be easy for us to understand those hardships alone, but, if we seek his will and live everyday to glorify Him, amazing things can happen.

God has a plan.