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Jesus Is Thankful For You!
Jon Burgess25At that time Jesus prayed this prayer:“O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and for revealing them to the childlike. 26Yes, Father, it pleased you to do it this way! Matthew 11:25-26
Hot on the heels of denouncing those unbelievers who saw the miracles and yet refused to repent Jesus turns his eyes to heaven. In stark contrast to the proud and the sophisticated, He thanks the Father for the childlike faith. He thanks God for His amazing plan to reveal His plan to those who would trust God with their lives even if it wasn't popular, even if it led to persecution. In fact, these were the ones Jesus had built his world-changing team with! The childlike faith of the disciples made way for the expansion of the Gospel. Meanwhile, the Pharisees, Sadducees and teachers of religious law completely missed out on what the God of the Universe was doing right in front of them!
Wow, I really needed this today. It's a combination of things that had me feeling down on myself. So, imagine my surprise when I open up today's reading to find Jesus is thankful for me! I am that child Jesus is talking about who, quite often actually, wonders what he is doing here. Like a child that has wondered on the stage in front of a large crowd, I keep thinking someone's going to wise up and drag me off and put the professional in my place. Maybe it's this Masters Course I'm taking that reminds me of how much I don't know. Maybe it's the man who walked up to me this past Sunday and "prophesied" about how badly I was doing as the pastor of New Hope. Maybe it's the woman who walked up to me not long after that man and was upset that every time she comes to see Pastor Wayne she ends up with me being the one who is talking. I still ended Sunday thanking God for the privilege of serving this church and His people. I thanked God for the 24 who were water baptized on that same day. I'm not doing this for applause or to be voted most popular, but it doesn't mean words don't hurt. That's why when I woke up on Thanksgiving week to find Jesus giving thanks for me I was happily reminded that when it comes down to it, that's all that matters. As long as I keep walking in childlike faith the Father will continue to reveal His plan to me. People pleasing is a foolproof way to miss out on God's plan. Pleasing the Father is proof to some that I'm a fool. I'll take pleasing the Father every time no matter how much my insecurity wants everyone to like me!
Thank You, Jesus! You met me in Your Word today and spoke Your words of life over those words of rejection spoken over me this past weekend! It's the greatest feeling in the world to be doing this life with You. I give you all the places of insecurity, inferiority, people pleasing. Let me never get so sure of myself that I leave my childlike faith behind in favor of my own way. I need to continue to see Your plan for my life, my family, and this church and that means looking through the eyes of a child. A child who wakes up every day happy to be alive. A child who takes His Father's hand and can't wait to see where He leads him. A child who brings his fears and worries and cares and leaves them at the feet of His Father so he is free to run into his divine purpose!
