When they heard all he was doing,
many people came to him …
those with diseases were pushing forward to touch him.
Mark 3:8a, 10b
As word of His ministry spread, Jesus was forced more and more to retreat and pull back from the crowds. They pressed in and followed – not because they wanted to hear His teaching, but because they wanted to experience and see the miracles He could perform. They wanted the blessings…but they didn’t necessarily want HIM.
It sounds a bit like the prosperity gospel teachers of today who try to “market” Jesus with promises of health and wealth. We might ask those then and those today, “Do you really want Jesus…or do you just want what He can do for you?”
And then…as we ask that question…conviction comes….we look in the mirror and we ask ourselves, “Do I really want Jesus…or do I just want what He can do for me?”
What are you and I expecting from Jesus?
Do we want a Jesus who delivers when we call….wraps everything thing up with the bow on top just like WE want it?
We are so short-sighted…praying for the end…the bottom line…the happy ending…when so very often He is the God of the process. Teaching us, drawing us, molding us, and refining us through it all.
We want the problem to be solved. He wants us to focus on His promises and provision in the midst of the problem.
Can I really…truly….trust Him…?
Can you?
If I’m trusting Jesus with my salvation…my hope for my eternal destiny…then surely I can trust Him with my now.
Hard things come to all of us. We pray…God seems to be silent or doesn’t answer the way we ask…or demand. We question if He sees…knows….or cares.
Perhaps that’s because we are clinging to our expectations of how Jesus will respond…rather than clinging to Jesus Himself. The presence of trouble does not mean God is absent. But it does mean it’s time to hold on to Jesus.
{ If you are studying through Mark with us, please read Mark 3:7-35 this week. Here is the recorded teaching lecture on this passage: http://fbcsiloam.podbean.com/2013/10/03/ladies-bible-study-mark-37-35-laura-macfarlan-10-3-13/ }
