KEY VERSE: John 19:11 “Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above….”
REFLECTIONS: The first ten verses of chapter 19 are noisy, and there are voices of the soldiers, Pilate, the chief priests and officers, the Jews. The Lord is beaten, and now He is wearing the crown of thorns and the mocking purple robe. Finally in verse 11 He responds to Pilate’s question of, Don’t you know the power I have over you? When I sat down to read these chapters, my mind was overwhelmed by too many thoughts, too many what if’s, too much of the commotion of the world around me. But the Lord got my attention right away with His quiet response to Pilate: You would have no power over me at all unless it were given to you from above…
Sometimes this great God we serve says to me, “Hush. It may not look like it, but I have everything under control.” And my troubles don’t begin to compare with what He was going through. As horrible as the crucifixion story is in these chapters, Jesus knew the end of the story. He knew that Death would be “swallowed up in victory,” I Cor. 15:54. Amen! And later when Mary is crying at the Lord’s tomb, she was just sad because she thought someone had taken His body away. (20:13) She couldn’t even imagine that she was about to hear Him call her name! (20:16) Often God has so much more in store for us than we can even fathom.
When my son was in a terrible accident and we knew he had a brain injury, the doctors had to say, “We can’t be sure yet, but you need to know how he might be changed if he does wake up,” and they tried to prepare us for various possible situations. I listened, but my constant plea to God was simple: Please, can we keep him. And not only did we get to keep him, God took care of all the what if’s, too – beyond all we could ask or think! Thank the Lord, He had everything under control, and still does.
APPLICATION: May we daily abide in Him and listen to His voice above all else. He has everything under control.Thank you for being a part of the 40 Day Challenge. Thanks for reading, and you have a blessed day!
In Christ, Margie Jackson
SAVED: Age 9FAVORITE BIBLE CHARACTERS: David and Peter
FAMILY: Husband Bob; 5 Children: Jessica, Amanda, Rebecca, Will, Danny; Mother-in-law Marge Jackson
OCCUPATION: Wife and Mom
AREA OF MINISTRY AT CHURCH: Children's Music and VBC Web Team
OCCUPATION: Wife and Mom
AREA OF MINISTRY AT CHURCH: Children's Music and VBC Web Team