Plainly Said and Still Missed

And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. And He was stating the matter plainly. Mark 8:31,32

I marvel that Jesus was so precise in the things He shared with His disciples and yet they missed it! They could not see the meanings behind His words. Therefore, when those things He told them ahead of time began to happen, they were filled with fear, confusion, and misunderstanding. Truth had been presented to them but they were unable to take it in, due to preconceived ideas, unreceptive hearts, and their own personal agendas. They thought Jesus had come to overthrow the Roman government and set up an earthly kingdom. Words like suffer, rejected, killed, and resurrection did not quite fit their picture! However, once all these things came to pass and God’s Spirit took up residence in them, their eyes were opened and they could exclaim, “Now I see!” Life would never be the same for them from that point on.

I have had things plainly told to me and still missed what was being said. Even with the Holy Spirit in me and the complete Word of God before me I was not getting the message. Have you ever lived your Christian life knowing you are on the right track but sensing something is still missing….something is still wrong? This past week has been filled with eye-opening moments for me. Allow me to share just two truths that became clear to me.

God opened my understanding to the fact that if I live my life desiring to be anyone other than myself I will miss what He has intended for me. Out of my own sense of worthlessness and self loathing, I found it safer to just be someone other than who I am. God gently let me know I was settling for less and missing what He desired to do in me. Idolatry, camouflaging, and pretending actually closed the door to what I was really craving.

He also showed me that taking in truth about Him is not the same as living in relationship with Him. He wants a personal, intimate relationship with me and that is what we are now cultivating.

Father, it has taken two and a half years for the first drops of truth to get from my head to my heart. I marvel and I weep. Praise You! Amen.