What I See or Miss

8.6.2011

John 8:59 59 At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds. NIV

In 2 Kings 6.8ff is the story of the prophet Elisha dealing with the Arameans. He prays that God would blind the Aramean army as they approach to attack, and God does exactly that. So I ask, did God actually blind them, or simply confuse them so they didn’t know where they were? There is a lot to the story that seems to be left out.

I sometimes wonder who on earth, if any, will witness the rapture. Or will God so arrange it that every person who is going to be left will somehow be distracted, even for a moment, when God takes His people away; in the twinkling of an eye.

And then I think about Jesus proclaiming, “I Am!” to the Jews at the Temple and they all reach down to pick up stones to stone Him and in that moment, in the twinkling of an eye, He slips away. The verse above says He hid himself.

God can do anything He wants. He just can’t do anything. There’s a difference. A god who can do anything is a god who can’t be trusted. A god who can do anything can do corrupt things. A god who can do anything is a god who can lie, cheat, and steal to get his way. The difference between that kind of a god and God is God can do anything He wants and since He wants nothing (and needs nothing), He does whatever is in His heart; and all that is in His heart is always good. God is as good in His providence as He is in His judgment. He is as loving in His punishment as He is in His discipline. God can make the entire earth look away if even for the briefest of moments; remember, it was, for a while, a dark, dark day when Jesus was crucified naked on that cross.

Jesus didn’t run from the stoning. That’s important to remember. He didn’t just call them names and then run away. Jesus hid Himself to protect them. They could’ve run after Him to stone Him. They could’ve brought blasphemy charges against Him at a later time. Jesus, however He did it, disappeared; and I think they were more astonished at that than they were at the, “I Am” statement. When they all bent down blind in their deluded zeal, they all stood back up blind in their deluded zeal. There is none so blind as those who will not see.

Jesus knew He was going to eventually tick them off to the point where they would drag Him before the Romans to kill Him; but it was going to be according to His calendar, not theirs. I need to remember that whatever happens, happens because it is in God’s timing and not mine. And what I see or miss is because God calls the shots on what I see or miss. And the events of my life are divinely ordered by Him and never controlled by me. Whew! That takes the pressure off if I learn to submit to His time and not my own.