What do you do when life throws you a curve ball; when the unexpected happens? If it’s not too drastic, you can probably adjust to it fairly easily. Yet what if it is decidedly different than you had anticipated?
Jesus’s disciples had this experience. Once they knew for certain that He was God’s promised Messiah, Jesus began to tell them what the future held for Him. He told them they would go to Jerusalem, He would suffer many things from the religious leaders, He would be killed, and that He would rise in three days (Matthew 16:21). Peter gave the same response we probably would have given. He said, “God forbid, Lord! This shall never happen to you.”
Peter heard of the death of his Messiah, not the resurrection. He saw the end of Messiah as he understood Messiah, not God’s purpose for the redemption of mankind.
Aren’t we the same? We accept Christ as our Savior and think everything will now be easy and blissful. But that is not God’s way. Now we are to take up our cross and follow Him. Follow Him to what? To the death of our self-will and the resurrection of His life and purposes in us. Is it easy? No. But God promises to be with us and help us each step of the way. His presence brings the ultimate joy and peace any person can experience. This life with its troubles and trials is not the end of the story. If we are faithful to the end of life, we will be raised to the glory of heaven and His glorious presence forever (Matthew 24:13)!
So what happens when life throws you a curve ball; when things don’t go as you planned? Peter eventually came to understand that God did know what He was doing. Jesus’s death and resurrection accomplished far more than if He had reigned in Jerusalem over Israel. His death and resurrection resulted in the offered forgiveness of our sins and His reign in our hearts.
When life throws us a curve ball, let’s turn to God and ask for His purpose in the situation. If we don’t seem to get an answer, let’s continue to trust and walk in obedience until His purpose is revealed. Though we may not understand now, let’s keep trusting and we will eventually find that God’s ways are best.
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