About three weeks ago I read John 16 & 17 with my small group and I have not been able to get it out of my mind since. I’ve read it and re-read it and it keeps blowing me away. I don’t know how I missed it before—I’ve read it, but I never caught the tone of sincere love and provision Jesus sets as He prays for us.
Chapter 16 continues a discussion Jesus is having with His disciples. It is the point in Jesus’ life where He is about to be betrayed. He is with His disciples after the Passover meal and telling them the things that they will need to know before He will leave them for a time… and He already knows how difficult that will be for His friends and followers. It ends with the incredibly encouraging statement: “In this world there will be trouble, but take heart! I have overcome the world.”
And then, in Ch. 17, He begins to pray. He prays first for Himself, asking the Father to glorify Him in the Father’s presence as He had been before the world began and defining eternal life: “that they may know you, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” He then prays for His disciples--the men He has come to know in a humanly familiar sense and who accepted His word. He prays protection over them, knowing very well the attacks both human and spiritual that will rain down on them from all sides. He asks that the Father not take them out of the world, but to sanctify them—set them apart for sacred use. I love that definition. It just shows that God has purpose for our lives. Jesus asks that we be set apart for God to use to fulfill His purposes. That will certainly look different for each of our lives, but I found it so encouraging to ‘hear’ Jesus asking for purpose for our lives. There is no question that we get to be part of the great work that God is doing. J
Then he goes on to pray for the disciples to “be one AS WE are one”—He’s not talking about unity with God here, but unity like His unity with the Father among and between the disciples. Wow. This is the epitome of intimacy. Knowing each other’s hearts and heart-cries and loving unconditionally, working in complete agreement toward the same goals… each equally convinced of each other’s worth and competence and unquestionable belief that the goal towards which they are working is a worthy one as well. Just think! We are called to such unity! Just think how differently our lives would look if we were actually able to live like that! And Jesus wants that for us! Such an awesome calling!
Then, as Jesus continues His prayer, He prays for “those who will believe in me because of their message”…i.e. US. I never caught that. Jesus Christ prayed for ME and you too! Truly reading this for the first time without scales on my eyes, I was blown away by this! He stepped out of unreachable history and once again reminded me that He is Lord, savior, and friend now. Not just sometime in the future when I will get to see Him face-to-face. He knows us now and prayed for us before we ever existed. Talk about a personal God! And yet, I lose sight of Him that way so often.
I forget that He warned me that there would be trouble and trials in this world because I am no longer of the world any more than He is of the world (Jn 17:16). Of course I will find myself homesick for Him and the perfection that my soul knows (savoir) but has yet to know-know (connaître). As soon as I lose my Godly perspective, everything is confusing and surprising in unpleasant ways. I begin to, once again, listen to Satan’s lies… the really insidious ones that leave me questioning why I am at the place I’m at, why I don’t have the things I’ve convinced myself I would satisfy me. The things that would satisfy me? Do you hear the lies? Nothing satisfies, but the Lord. Even if I were able to wave a magic wand and suddenly have “all my hearts desires” I would not be at peace because I would not be resting in God—the source of peace.
This contrast was painfully obvious just this weekend when I found myself a bit low and lonely Friday night. Satan tempted and whispered (it would be a whole lot easier to resist him if he shouted and appeared as ugly as he truly is!) and I bought his lies and began to focus on myself instead of running to God. Needless to say it was like ash in my mouth. The next morning, I went to Congregation Beth Messiah, (Messianic Jewish synagogue) with a friend from my small group and the joy and rejoicing and truth in the service was a balm to my rumpled spirit. My perspective was renewed by the worship and teaching and I finally got up the courage to join in one of the simple circle dances that are led throughout the music portions! Being connected with believers—literally taking hands and dancing together, praying together, and generally joining together to be in God’s presence and rest in Him was such a blessing!
It ended up continuing all day as we met with the college-age/career group after service for lunch—“real chili” provided by the couple who leads it once a month (you have to imagine ‘real chili’ spoken in Tim’s down-home Texas country accent to get the full effect of that dish’s description by the way!) and Bible study that stretched into several lively discussions and some sweet, sweet music that went between guitar-led and a capella singing and finally concluded with a Havdalah ceremony that closed the Sabbath (page through this link http://www.scribd.com/doc/20287577/Sabbath-Celebrations to get a sense of it if you are interested.) It was such a beautifully restful day and at the same time was incredibly energizing! Celebrating the Sabbath as a day of rest in the Lord is still pretty new to me, but when I do it… oh my goodness! I am so rejuvenated! I feel ready to step out the next week and walk through whatever the devil throws at me, with the re-established knowledge that God is with me and has already provided for me and prayed for me and has no interest in making me face it alone! Praise God!
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