Last night, I dropped my phone in the toilet. It’s happened to all of us, literally and metaphorically. One minute we’re just living our lives, the next minute something seemingly catastrophic happens…
Okay, so maybe dropping my phone in the toilet isn’t actually as life-altering or as devastating as it felt in the moment, but my initial reaction is one we’ve all had when things go wrong. Overthinking. Panic. Frustration. We’ve all been there.
Throughout the day as I worried and prayed that the sack of rice my phone is sitting in is doing its job, a question popped into my mind: Did Jesus have moments like this? Moments where, in his mind, things seemed too stressful and frustrating to handle? Moments where he really wanted to complain? Moments where he thought, “Why me?”
His life definitely wasn’t cut out for someone who was fainthearted or easily complained. He didn’t live an easy life. I think his phone getting dropped in the toilet would’ve been the least of his problems.
While we dread the worst possible case scenarios our minds can come up with, Jesus knew where his life on earth would lead him. He started foreshadowing his death in Matthew 16: 21-23…
“From the time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you. But he turned and said to Peter, “Get Behind me, Satan! You are a [stumbling block] to me. For you are not setting your mind of the things of God, but on the things of man.” ESV
Just the possibility of suffering keeps me from doing things sometimes, but Jesus, knowing that he would suffer, continued obeying the Lord anyways. That gives me an immense amount of respect, admiration, and compassion for the Lord. I know that God isn’t ever going to call me to sacrifice myself because Jesus already died on the cross for me, but I still hesitate out of fear or discouragement.
Today in church, I was feeling pretty bummed out. It was one of those spiral situations where one mishap (my phone being dropped in the toilet) caused my mind to fall into a pit of negativity. Then, God and I had a conversation that actually rocked my world. In midst of my complaints and sadness, he told me to read Jeremiah 31:1-4…
“‘At that time, declares the LORD, I will be the God of all the clans of Israel, and they shall be my people.’ Thus says the LORD: ‘The people who survived the sword found grace in the wilderness; when Israel sought for rest, [I] appeared to him from far away. I have loved you with an everlasting love, therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you. Again I will build you, and you shall be built, O virgin Israel! Again you shall adorn yourself with tambourines and shall go forth in the dance of merrymakers.” ESV
God then told me to tell the lady sitting beside me at church something derived from these verses, although this scripture was originally referring to Israel. He told me to tell her,
“God sees you striving for rest. He sees your faithfulness and devotion. For this, he is going to bless your family with abundant grace, love, and joy. He is going to build your family a strong foundation.”
When he told me this, my first instinct was to blow it off. The excuses and doubts began to take my thoughts captive. God, I’m having a really bad day. I don’t really feel like doing this. I’m not my prime self right now.
Then I was reminded of Jesus’ devotion to what God called him to do. Jesus definitely had discouraging things happen to them, but he was always obedient to the Lord because he knew that his will was always what was best.
God said, “Heather, you long for me to use you for my kingdom, yet you’re going to let your emotions have a say before me?”
After this humbling moment, I garnered up the courage to talk the woman who God told me to speak with.
Through this experience, I gained insight on the beauty of Jesus’ willingness despite the trials, suffering, and oppression that he faced. I also learned that God doesn’t call us to be perfectly okay all the time, but he does call us to be willing. Even when we have moments that make us want to throw away all our determination and willingness, we shouldn’t let that be an excuse to delay or shut down what God wants us to do. The Lord has compassion for us when frustrating things happen, but He also knows what’s best for us in every moment despite how we’re feeling. While he validates the emotions that we feel in a moment, He also has access to the future. Why shouldn’t we trust him when he knows that we’ll come out of the current trials that we’re allowing to hold us back from unlocking our full potential? Let’s trust in the Lord for guidance, even when we drop our phones in the toilet.
