Seeking God in JOHN

“Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the father is with me.” JOHN 16:32

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emember when you were a child and your parents took you to the doctor? Remember how you knew someone would sting you with a needle to give you a vaccine? Remember the agony of anticipation? Was it not mightily distressing just the mere imagination of what might await you at the clinic? The scent, the nurses, the frightening doctor walking through the door, you probably rehearsed the experience hours before it happened, and it hurt all along until they finally did it and you went home sobbing with a sore arm.

Now envision having the gift of prophecy and seeing your friends forsaking you, the rod of your enemies upon your back, and your body nailed to a cross. Envision the sight of those you love wasting away in the world of sin, unless you put away all self-centeredness and give your life for them. Our Christian path is not always easy to walk, but it is the only one worth taking.

Even during His unimaginable sorrow, Jesus kept an absolute confidence in God, and it sprang from the deep love in His wholesome heart. Our Lord faced his darkest moment head on, knowing all along that our Father was with Him. He wasted not one second of His time in self-pity. Instead, He comforted His disciples and assured them that they would receive the Holy Spirit, that they would never be alone. He endured loneliness at Gethsemane while surrendering to the will of God. Why wouldn’t He, instead, run around pulling His hair and tearing His clothes, knowing what fate awaited Him? He would have, if He was only a man. How could He kneel and pray for others before He was tortured, unless the spirit of the living God empowered Him? This same Spirit to bear all things dwells within us. We also have the power to endure, to lay down our lives for our friends, and to draw strength from dwelling in God’s presence.