TUESDAY, OCTOBER 10
Jesus knew that they wanted to ask Him, so He said to them,
“Is this what you are asking yourselves, what I meant by saying, ‘A little while and you will not see Me, and again a little while and you will see Me’?”
John 16:19 ESV
ENJOY THE PERSPECTIVE
Formula One motor racing is the fastest sport in the world. Central to the strategy of winning a Formula One race is the pit-stop. No driver, no matter how fast they drive, can win a race without taking a pit-stop. During pit-stops the drivers take refreshment, receive instructions, have engine repairs, refuel the tank and set off on fresh tires. A Formula One race is all about speed and strategy – and it is in the timing and management of the pit-stop that the race is often won. (Robert Holden, Success Intelligence) In the same way, out spiritual lives require frequent pit stops if we are going to win our spiritual race.
In John 16 Jesus was trying to help His disciples gain perspective on a season of suffering that was coming. He used the phrase “a little while” seven times in four verses (vv.16-19). Jesus would be taken from them and crucified in a few hours. The three days following must have seemed like an eternity. However, three days later Jesus was resurrected and they did see Him again. Eventually they would see Him in heaven and spend eternity in His presence.
Someone said, “When God wants to make an oak, He takes a hundred years, but He takes only two months to make a squash.” God is doing a big and lasting work in your life. There are times when we are asking if this season is ever going to end. God promises your sorrow is temporary. One day we will realize those seasons were only pitstops in the grand scheme of our spiritual journey.
“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 ESV
Do you feel like you are in a pit-stop right now? Ask God to give you His perspective on your current situation. Ask God to help you find joy during the season that you are currently going through.
