By The Rev. Heather Wright
These are trying times. As a minister, I get to talk to many different people each week. Many are heart-heavy with personal challenges and international concerns. I believe God is with us in all of this but also know the presence of God isn’t always evident. Often we see that provision and protection looking back at how our circumstances unfolded. By not seeing it in the moment, it invites us deeper in our walk with God. In some challenging times of late, it has seemed to me as if God’s Holy Spirit is whispering: “Do you trust me?”
I preached this Palm Sunday. A familiar story we retell in churches each year, Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a donkey amidst cheering crowds celebrating a King’s arrival. What struck me in my preparation this year is that God knew the plan. There were past promises to God’s people and prophecies foretold of a donkey and his entry into Jerusalem, as well as many other references in Hebrew Scriptures connected to this scene.
Jesus knew where the donkey would be that day and that the owner would be ready to give it to the disciples for Jesus’ purpose. He knew the Holy Spirit was at work unfolding a supernatural salvation plan, but to the people of his day, it wouldn’t have made any sense. The disciples must have been perplexed with Jesus’ words to take a donkey with the simple words to its owner, “the Lord has need of it.” But God knew the outcome of the story being woven from the start to the close of the Bible. This plan unfolds in what looks like the lead up to a coronation. Jesus knew that the crown he was about to be given was not one of jewels but one of thorns.
From an earthly perspective, with earthly eyes, it would seem all hope is lost as the God-made-man, in the person of Jesus, was being taken to Calvary. But God’s plan is unstoppable and is often very different than what we expect or anticipate. An often-memorized verse, Romans 8:28 says, “God works all things together for those he loves and are called according to his purpose.”
This tells me, whatever you’re struggling with today, whether it’s relational struggles, health concerns, financial difficulty or trying to find work, God knows. Can you trust that God is working all things for good in your situation today? That requires us to surrender control of the problem and outcome, which does not come easy to any of us.
When the hardships come, or I’m feeling sad or disturbed about something, those are the times my faith is tested. I sense the Holy Spirit asking, “do you trust me? Do you believe I hold you in my right hand, and I love you, that I am with you, that I will shape something beautiful out of the ashes?” In response, I’m like the tax collector in Jesus’ parable who said, “Lord, I believe, help my unbelief.”
On that first Palm Sunday, Jesus knew that the people wanted a hero, someone to relieve their suffering and who would make everything right, to bring justice to the people who had known much heartache and oppression. He did come to bring comfort and justice but on a level that no one could’ve anticipated. It was on a heart level, a spiritual level. In fact the mighty hand of Rome looked all the more powerful when he was nailed to the tree on Golgotha.
For those closest to him, his beloved friends who had followed him during his three years of ministry, their despair, disillusionment and fear must have been great. Their own lives were at stake and the man they followed and knew as Lord, was gone. They felt abandoned. But God knew the pain they were experiencing then and the bewilderment and joy that they would have when they encountered the living and resurrected Jesus.
Life is packed with experiences of joy and sorrow, abundance and loss. The test of faith is where we go when we were hurting, angry or overwhelmed. Can we trust that God exists, God is for us, and will ultimately replace our distress for joy? In prayer, we can ask for eyes to see God’s perspective on our current challenges, guidance for how we can make a difference for others, and for strength to trust God more.
