Since we'll never see the 'big picture', we must seek the mind of Christ

Now what?
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The general election was five days ago. I don’t know if you’re happy or sad, hopeful or hopeless, encouraged or discouraged. I do know, God is still on the throne. He’s still sovereign and in control.  Even still, now what? 
 
Let's forget about the election today and focus on what God’s calling us to do through the example of Jesus Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane. We want to see what the mind of Christ looked like in a difficult moment.

Mark 14:32-36 Jesus takes Peter, James and John with Him. He tells them that His soul is sorrowful. He tells them to stay there and watch. Jesus steps further into the garden, falls to the ground, and prays.

Mark 14:36 “Abba Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will.”  In this passage, we read of the  moment when Jesus – God’s Son is about to carry out the biggest sacrifice in history.  

He KNOWS! He knows what’s about to happen.

He’s spent time teaching on it. He’s just had Passover with His disciples. And now, He takes a few of them down into the valley to do the most important thing anyone can do when times are messy – when things aren’t together. Pray. 

So, He prays and prays, deep prayers.

“Father . . . take this away! Jesus says with intensity. Then, sensing the Father ministering to Him, Jesus says, “Yet – not what I will, but what You will.”

Now what? 
What a mess. We see the mess our leaders have created within our towns, communities, cities, and across America. What a mess. We see the mess of divisiveness ruining relationships among friends, family, and even within our churches. What a mess. We see the civil unrest in our country. What a mess. We see the pandemic claiming the lives of our loved ones. What a mess.  

When in a mess, when facing a time that’s so immense - Jesus looked up.
• He could have looked down
• He could have looked at the shadows around Him
• He could have looked at the frail, tired disciples
• He could have looked for an escape route out of the garden
BUT He looked UP – to the father.

Why?
Because the father had the answer.

You know we don’t often have the full plan, all the answers, the way to get through the craziness of life. We don’t even see the complete picture. Sometimes life can seem like a handful of pieces, pieces that are hard to put together on our own. We think we have it sorted. It looks reasonable, but . . .

The disciples saw Jesus. They put the pieces together. It looked reasonable...He’s a good teacher that could one day become a ruler, king or leader. They could be his aids. The pieces started to fit together, yet they didn’t comprehend the words Jesus was saying about being handed over, dying or rising. They couldn’t see the ‘big picture.’ 

But it was there. The disciples focused on one area and one area only. We like to think we have the answers, that we see the end game. We would like to think we can tell God how to fit the pieces together. 

But – you know what?
We don’t have the picture – we don’t even see half of the picture.
I want you to understand, we will NEVER see the big picture.  
What we must seek to have in these times, is the mind of Christ. 

What this means is that you want to do God’s will, even when it hurts, even when it’s difficult, even when it doesn’t make sense.  Jesus gave us the ultimate example of this as we read in Mark 14 on the night before He went to the cross.  

In the garden, Jesus was in agony. He knew the pain He was about to face. Not just the physical pain but the emotional and spiritual pain of being separated from his Father as He carried the shame and weight of OUR sin.

Even then Jesus prayed, “Abba, Father…everything is possible for You. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will”.  Jesus said He wanted to do God’s will, not His own, even if it was painful.

So, I know we don’t have the big picture. We never will see God’s big picture. But we CAN have the mind of Christ.

The disciples didn’t have the full picture in Gethsemane and we don’t have the full picture five days after the election. 

In our prayers we should say, “Open the eyes of my heart, Lord.” I want to see more than I do with my physical eyes. Open the eyes of my heart.

May I suggest you do something each day? 
-Seek the Lord
-Read His Word each day
-Spend more time in prayer
-Spend more time listening to Him
-Ask Him to show you the ‘big picture’ 

Look up, and say, It is well with my soul. I’m going through this messy moment with God because only He holds the future and I’ll be guided by His hand. 
With God, things don’t just happen –He is sovereign, He has the big picture – He has the big plan.

Keep growing in your walk with the Lord over this time. Pray like Jesus. Be spiritually mature and trust God will provide. Remember, “Look up.”