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The Speed of Jesus…

By January 5, 2025Devotional

Last Thursday, I wrote about trusting Jesus and just CHILLing out. I had quite a bit of feedback on that post. People were thrilled to consider the idea of not having to rush from place to place – and to just relax. Many of us have trouble letting go… it’s not the trust part as much as it is the idea that we want to control stuff and forget to engage the Holy Spirit in making our next move.

At church this morning,  I heard one of the pastors use a phrase that I found interesting. He was discussing his plans for the year and happened to mention the phrase, “the speed of Jesus.” He went on to mention that Jesus pretty much walked everywhere. There was nothing in the life of Jesus that caused Him to be in a hurry.

As I thought about his comment, I have to admit that I agreed with his assessment. There were no cars, or planes, and what boats were around were propelled by rowing or wind. Other than the donkey that Jesus used on Palm Sunday, I can’t recall offhand any other time that Jesus rode an animal. When Jesus and the disciples were hungry, they gleaned in the fields by walking. They walked everywhere.

In probably the most famous story that I can think of, Jesus walked to the place where Lazarus had died. Mary and Martha wondered why Jesus didn’t come earlier, but He knew what He was about to do – to raise Lazarus from the dead.

Jesus walked on water to the boat that the disciples were in. He walked ministering to people who listened to Him speak and watched Him do miracles. In fact, certainly in the beginning, people didn’t follow Jesus because He was the Messiah. They followed Him because they wanted to see miracles. In the Gospel of John, Jesus mentioned that he knew the motivations of the people and was committed to wanting them to accept the Good News and His claim that He was the Son of God.

Many times we see Jesus waiting… In the story of the restoration of Peter, Jesus is on the shore cooking fish. He offers the disciples breakfast – not in a hurry, but to engage in fellowship with them. The bottom line is that Jesus never seems to be in a hurry. He engages people in conversation, usually teaching them at every opportunity. And he goes off by Himself to pray and spend time with His Father in prayerful solitude.

So what can we learn about Jesus from these Scriptural examples? That Jesus loved people and engaging with them was incredibly important to Him. He lived life in the moment – even with the woman at the well, when He offered her living water. Or when He fed the 5000 and taught that He was the bread of life. Jesus had time to experience people and live life to the fullest. And He surrounded Himself with people who shared the journey with Him.

We can learn great lessons from the example of Jesus. We can CHILL out and take our time. We can slow down and smell the roses along the way. We can turn over our troubles and problems to Jesus; and trust that He will do what is in our best interest. We can travel at the speed of Jesus – slowly…

Our verse for tonight is about the death of Lazarus. It may just be the best example of Jesus taking His time to go somewhere. John, the author of the Gospel that bears his name, recounts to us, in John 11:5-10, “Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days. Then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.” “But Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jews tried to stone you, and yet you are going back there?” Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? A man who walks by day will not stumble, for he sees by this world’s light. It is when he walks by night that he stumbles, for he has no light.”

The rest of the story lets us know that Jesus and the disciples return and Jesus eventually raises Lazarus from the dead. Jesus transcends time and space. It is up to us to let Jesus lead us and for us to travel with Him. My encouragement this evening is that Jesus wants us to slow down and trust in Him to do what is best for us. By slowing down, we have a chance to live life in the moment; and to enjoy the journey. My prayer is that we will stop wishing for things to be over – wishing our lives away – as opposed to living today while reducing our stress and anxiety. We should commit to walk at the speed of Jesus. Have a great day in the Lord, grace and peace…

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