Devotion - Day 17

³¹ At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, “Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you.”  ³² He replied, “Go tell that fox, ‘I will keep on driving out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.’ ³³ In any case, I must press on today and tomorrow and the next day—for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem! (Luke 13:31-33)

Thought: We are reminded that faith was not easy for Jesus. He was surrounded by enemies who sought long and hard to destroy him and who eventually succeeded. The scripture today makes clear the relationship between God’s sovereignty and human responsibility. We see the clash of wills between God and the opponents of God. Scripture clearly states that God has predestined us “according to His purpose, who works all things after the counsel of His will” (Eph. 1:11). This means that nothing happens by chance or apart from God’s will; rather, God ordains everything that happens.

What were the Pharisees motives for warning Jesus? Were they trying to help Him or prevent Him from going to Jerusalem? The Pharisees may have wanted the sort of Messiah who would do their will, who would let them live with their sins of pride and self-will, who wouldn’t go to a cross or call people to crucify their sins so that they could be made new by God. Either way, their motives were going against God’s will for Jesus’ life. The Pharisees figured Jesus would be afraid of Herod since he was a powerful man. This is the same Herod that had John the Baptist, Jesus’ cousin, beheaded a few years back. If Herod wants someone dead, chances are they will be dead. But Jesus refuses to change his plans. He did not go into hiding. On the contrary, He knew that he had to fulfill the scriptures of being crucified and of rising from the dead in that city. He is completely unafraid of the threat posed by Herod’s ill wishes.

It is God’s will that will determine the timing, the place, and the extent of the Messiah’s ministry, and not our own will. Herod’s threats did not intimidate or derail Jesus from His purpose. As we can read in the gospel of Luke, Jesus was determined to do the will of His Father. In God’s sovereignty, the “fox” doesn’t have any real power.

Our future is determined by God’s sovereign power and Jesus’ submission to it. Our Christian walk revolves around our surrendering to the God we know through Jesus Christ. Our plans often go awry—either through others’ influence or our indifference. We must pray, and ask God “your will be done.”

We all at times want just enough of Christ to be saved, but not so much of Him that we have to submit to change; enough of Christ that He will hear our prayers, but not enough that people think we are strange. But we really don't have a choice in this matter: We will either have all of Christ or we will have none of Him. That doesn’t mean that we’ll be perfect. It means simply that we will surrender to Christ’s will for our lives. So how do we do that? How do we surrender to Christ? It begins by allowing our will to be reprogrammed by Christ. Reprogramming our will isn’t easy. The Bible says that we reprogram our will by letting Christ fill our thinking.
 
Paul writes, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern the will of God--what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:2)

When we adopt the habits of prayer, studying God’s Word, worshipping, encouraging others, and serving in Jesus’ name the will of God becomes paramount in our lives.

Prayer: Jesus, you met with resistance everywhere you went, and we are thankful for your total commitment to walk to Jerusalem and to the cross to offer us the ultimate gifts, eternal blessing, and everlasting joy in heaven. Please give us the courage, boldness, and passion we need to serve you effectively with integrity, righteousness, mercy, and grace. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.


Questions:

1.      How can we reprogram our way of thinking to align with God’s will for us?

2.      How can we know if we are out of balance on the side of divine sovereignty or human responsibility?