Sunday 19 Oct 2014

October 19: John 13:18-20

Key Verse: John 13:19
Now I tell you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe that I am He.

Devotion:
When Jesus had to tell His disciples that one of them was going to betray Him, it hurt! This was something that was on the cards from the beginning, but it did not make it any easier now that the time had come. When we are faced with hardships in our lives, just because we may know what is ahead or we are prepared for what is ahead, does not make it any different when the time comes. Yes we are more prepared and we know what we should do or have to do, but we still have to go through the trial.

Jesus knew what had to be done because this moment was written down in the scriptures already, but actually stopping and telling the disciples was difficult. He knew how much some of them would be hurt by the discussion which probably made it all the harder for Him to say. But He did. This is the will of the Father, our Father in heaven, God Almighty. When we face up to God’s will in our lives it may not be to our liking, but we will know that it is His will when we do face it.

God is always going to give us some sort of escape from the hardships we face; that may not seem like it right now, but He does. Being patient and waiting for the right moment to face up or speak up is also hard going. Most of us cannot imagine carrying round a secret for most of our lives and then having to tell that secret when the time is right because most of us will give in and tell someone about that secret before too long; but Jesus did so and carried it right up until this moment knowing that the time had come.

I thank God for being so loving and faithful that He did this for our sakes so that we may believe in the truth ourselves. He could have swept it under the carpet and tried to convince us in an easier way, but he chose to make sure that this happened in exactly the way that the prophets had said it would. God does not go back on His word. God will never let us down. We can depend on Him now and forever more!

Points to Ponder:
Do you like secrets?

Are you trying to keep secrets from God?