Daily Huddle - Fri Apr 19, 2019 But I Thought...

Love you all, praying for you! 
 
And darkness fell on the earth from the 6th to the 9th hour.  From noon til 3:00 pm in the middle of the day.  The earth was a black as night.

There is nothing that compares to crucifixion – the most tortured, brutal and inhumane death ever devised by the evil inspiration of man.  A drawn out, prolonged, and most intense suffering.  But those who suffered that fate, at the hands of the Romans, didn’t face what Jesus faced; the crown of thorns, the betrayal their close friend, the abandonment of everyone he loved and served, the ridicule of absolute hypocrites, and total strangers.  And the crushing weight of the sin of the world  – that not only turned the Fathers face, but was as foreign to his body and Spirit as it was to His Fathers…   all of that – laid on him.  Unimaginable.  I cannot even comprehend, I can only bow down and worship.
 
And the disciples… the utter shock of having just experienced that brutality, the guilt of their abandonment, their dreams and faith disintegrated, left only with the complete disillusionment they were drowning in.  What just happened?  Is this even possible?  Where is God?  How could He let this happen?

Are we supposed to wait for another Messiah?  How could a new Messiah possibly speak the Words of God, and do the miracles of God, like this Jesus of Nazareth?  Will they make the blind see and the lame walk?  Heal the sick, feed the 5000, tell the wind and waves to be still?  Will they raise Lazarus from the dead? 
 
When Jesus died, so did everything they thought and believed about him.  Their entire model was smashed into pieces.  We were so sure He was the One sent from God, that the prophets foretold.  We even saw prophecy fulfilled!    Surely He was going to take David’s throne in Jerusalem, and when Rome gathered their legions from all nations on earth and surrounded Jerusalem to besiege it – we would be right there with Jesus as he called down fire and hail upon them, like he spoke to the wind and the waves – until the entire Roman army is utterly destroyed in one day, just like God destroyed the Egyptian army in the Red Sea.   Then each of us would get a throne next to Jesus, and we would reign with him in Jerusalem over all the earth!  No more Caesar, no more taxes or Roman soldiers.  True priests and Levites serving in the temple – the Pharisees gone, the people bringing their sacrifices every year…
 
But this is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.  So that no sacrifice is any longer necessary  He IS the sacrifice.  With Jesus death, every hope and expectation they had, died with him. 
 
God always lets natural dreams die, so that by His Spirit, His dreams can be revealed, His will for you, His eternal destiny for you.  So what did you expect?  What did you come to believe God for?  Did it not turn out the way you expected?  Like you fully believed?   So what do you do now?  Put your trust in the LORD.  Wait on Him.  Believe what you cannot see, what you cannot imagine.  He will reveal Himself to you.  He will fulfill every promise He has every made.  He will fulfill what He has purposed in you since before the foundations of the earth. 
 
Praying that today as we remember what He did – in our place… that you will lay down every natural understanding and expectation that you have – so that He can resurrect in your life what He has prepared. 
 
That all honor and all glory and all blessing would be to the Name of Jesus – who now sits on the throne, ever interceding for you!  Oh LORD!  Would you bring everyone to Salvation in this Name.  The Name of Jesus!  Would you give us boldness to share this good news with everyone we know, in Jesus’ Name. 
 
Love you all,
dad