My day began almost six hours ago, but I know, Father, that there is more in store for me. And the great thing is I have some idea of what will happen but even if things change up, I am not alone. For You are with me all the way!
Mark 9:1-10 (<<click to read the passage)
Quite often when I read through passages, a certain phrase or sentence will “jump out at me.” In today’s reading, it’s the last sentence at the end of verse 7.
Then a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice [God the Father’s] from the cloud said, “This is my dearly loved Son. Listen to him.”
The sentence that grabs my attention is, “Listen to him.”
When my son was a young child, I remember on different occasions taking his small face in my hands, looking him straight in the eyes and in essence saying to him, “Listen to me.”
Especially when kids are in trouble – or for that matter when most of us are in trouble – we don’t want to look in the eyes of the one who is calling us on the carpet. We want to look anywhere but there. When we look at our corrector in the eyes, it becomes very difficult to avoid the truth.
It would probably be as scary as all get out but wouldn’t it be helpful if God our Father would take our face into His hands and say, “Listen to me.”? He would have our undivided attention and surely, we would listen.
When God the Father was speaking from the cloud that overshadowed Jesus, His disciples and Moses and Elijah, He was driving home a very important point of which we all can take heed, “Listen to him.” “Listen to my dearly loved Son. He’s speaking to you. He’s sharing wonderful things with you. He is passing on wisdom that will forever change your life…listen to Him.”
Lord Jesus, I would ask that You would take my face into Your hands and look me square in the eyes and help me to listen… Amen.
May 13th, 2019, Mon, 9:48 am
