My Daily Pause

On the Road to Emmaus – ~1310 – Duccio (1260–1318)

They were a little reluctant to believe.

And why not? The prophesy of the Messiah rising from the dead was something they knew would happen, but were they supposed to believe it was happening right before them?

Jesus called the two on the road to Emmaus foolish for doubting. (Luke 24:25) They had been taught this stuff all their life. They knew he was out there teaching and doing miracles. They knew this was all supposed to happen just like it did.

Even for his disciples, it was a lot to take in.

Sometimes we are reluctant like that. We read and study the Bible, learn what God can do for us, receive his blessings – and then doubt.

• We are reluctant to pray for what we really need.
• We are amazed when the prayers are answered.
• We are reluctant to pray the next time we are in need.

And so the cycle goes.

A little faith goes a long way. (Luke 17:6) Take what you have by nurturing it through study (Romans 10:17) and use it to do great things for the Lord. (Hebrews 11:6)

Zacharias Writes Down the Name of his Son – 1486-90 – Ghirlandaio

Oooops.

In Luke 1, Zachariah heard some extraordinary news and it was definitely hard to believe. He was a priest carrying out his duties at the altar when the angel appeared and identified himself. (Luke 1:18) This should have been good enough for a man of God, but he let doubt rule the day.

Since he questioned the angel’s message, Zechariah was muted until he gave his new son the name John. (Read all about the birth of John the Baptist.)

Zechariah wasn’t the first one to ever doubt God. If we are honest with ourselves, we know he wasn’t the last. It is something that every Christian struggles with.

God doesn’t want us to be worried. He hates when we have doubt.

And He has told us that a lot.

Today, take your Bible out and look at all the ways that God let us know he wants us to put ourselves in his care and trust him:

• James 4:7 – Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you
• Proverbs 3:5-6 – Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding…
• Romans 15:13 – May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope
• Psalms 118:9 – It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes
• Matthew 24:35 – Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away
• John 14:1 – Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me.
• And the big one: Matthew 6:25-34 – Do not be anxious for tomorrow, God will take care of you…

Feelings of doubt, weakened trust, and worry are all dealt with through prayer and spending time in God’s word. (Romans 10:17) Some times are harder than others, but this is always the proper course of action.

Make it a priority to do this more!

Peter looked around and saw the waves and felt the wind pulling at his cloak. Then he saw how far away the shore was and that was enough.

Do you feel the disappointment in Jesus’ voice as he reaches out and grabs Peter?

Matthew 14:22-32 is the account of Jesus walking on the water. That Jesus could walk on the water isn’t the surprising part. What is surprising is even after all that Peter has been through with Jesus – after being able to heal the sick, just like Jesus – his faith faded.

Wouldn’t Jesus be disappointed in us if we let our faith slip a little bit? Doesn’t our situation often worsen when we forget to give our fears and doubts to him? Some of the little things we do (or forget to do) is a symptom of that happening.

• When our giving isn’t at the top of our budget, our faith has slipped.
• When we worry about the little things in life, our faith has slipped.
• When we don’t pray regularly and earnestly, our faith has slipped.
• When we choose not to mention Jesus when given an opportunity, our faith has slipped.

Just as when he got into the boat, when we let Jesus in our lives, the winds cease.

Daily Bible reading for July 5

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
Joshua 3
Zephaniah 3:1-8
Matthew 14