Day 2 – Issue 18

Be Still Know

Matthew 7:28-29

‘When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, for he taught with real authority – quite unlike their teachers of religious law.’

It’s all very well doing godly things, but godly things may not be God things! Matthew records how people noticed that Jesus spoke with authority. Some people respond negatively to that word authority. It speaks of the imposition of a rule or the exercise of power by one over another. However, the meaning of the word from the Latin is ‘originator’ as in the word author.

Here we touch the heart of Jesus’ purpose. To reveal the author of creation, the true God and how he wants us live in the world he made. The metaphors of rocks, sand and storms are easily memorised. The images quickly grasped. Yet the kernel lies at the very heart of the metaphor. How does Jesus choose to exercise authority in my life?

I made some interesting discoveries in the heat of the storms swirling around my life. I wanted God miraculously to deliver me. Yet how was I to learn to love neighbour through empathy and practical support if my life rolled out unscarred? I’d lost sight of the fact I was fractured, living in a fallen world and the completion of all things lay in the future. I had the wrong mindset and the wrong timing. I was weak, ill placed and ill at ease with laying hold of a persevering faith.

I ranted at God and all who surrounded me, More victim than victor. As life unfolded I discovered everyone enters that valley for a season and for a purpose. When I became exhausted and discouraged I discovered Jesus as one who not just taught, but taught with authority. I accepted his invitation to co-author my life story. God cannot overwrite our will for He has chosen to act is a self limiting a way to further demonstrate his grace and love for all his creatures.

QUESTION: What’s the story of your life to date? Are you writing alone and has the plot taken you to places you never intended?

PRAYER: Today I acknowledge Jesus as the one with authority. I want Christ to be the Lord of my life. Father, please send the Holy Spirit to me afresh as the co-author of my life going forward.