When Jesus Changes the Pace

Good morning! The reading today is John 11:45-57.

Jesus has just raised Lazarus from the dead, and all of these incredible things are happening. It has really caught the attention of the Jewish leaders.

And yet John 11:54 says, "Therefore Jesus no longer continued to walk publicly among the Jews, but went away from there to the region near the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim; and there He stayed with the disciples."

That really made me think about learning to trust God with each moment and each step.

We tend to think that once things start rolling and moving, that's just the direction we're going to keep going. But in this walk with Jesus, that's not always how it works. Sometimes He stops us. Sometimes He redirects us. Sometimes He asks us to pause right in the middle of growth and movement and doing and says, No, it's time to adjust.

And I don't know about you, but when that happens, I can sort of panic. I start to worry: Did I lose it? Did I miss something? Am I doing something wrong?

And sometimes Jesus is simply saying, No. You're just in a different season. Keep walking with Me. Rest in Me. Grow your roots deeper in Me.

I think that's the important part: learning to trust Him with each moment of each day, even when it looks vastly different from what we thought our projected path would be.

Have a blessed day!