He set His face as a flint, while I flipped.
A little while ago I got caught in a blizzard while travelling on the highway with my RV. The snow was blinding! I couldn't see anything-not the hydro polls to my left or right or even a few feet in front of me. The wind was coming straight at me and the snow was blowing in ferocious lines along the side of me on the highway.
I had been driving in these hazardous conditions for about an hour. I knew I would be going down a steep hill soon, towards a valley with a large body of water on either side of me. I was creeping on the road, going less than 20 km an hour and so nervous because I really had no idea how close I was to the hill. Panic began to set in because I was so disoriented and couldn't see anything; in my confusion I had stopped all together on the highway!
I thought that I was still moving and that I had no brakes! I was slamming on the breaks while looking out my side window. I couldn't see anything except for pieces of the center line of the highway as the wind and snow blew past; it really looked like I was still moving!
Now, I was absolutely flipping out and crying to God, because I knew that the hill was coming, and I thought I had no control! I really contemplated grabbing my dog that was right beside me and opening the door and jumping out, but the wind was so bad, I could barely get the door open. I then decided to pull the emergency break and believed at that crazy moment I had come to a stop-but really, I had stopped five minutes.
If I would have just looked at my speedometer, I would have realized that I wasn't moving. I breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that no cars hit me as I was sitting in the middle of the highway in a blizzard. I thanked God over and over and eventually began to laugh at my situation after my heart rate got back to normal. The RV started up just fine and eventually the weather cleared and I got safely to my destination.
As I think about my situation, I was reminded of the Lord Jesus and how He faced the strenuous and painful prospect of Calvary. He didn't have the kind of flip that I did on my stressful ride through a storm. The Bible says that He set His face as a flint to go through His storm-the cross (Isaiah 50:7). He was unwavering and willing to persevere though the excruciating task that was before Him.
I was looking for a way out and willing to jump ship at the thought of not being in control and facing an accident. I was trying to save my life and He was willing to give His! He was in complete control and could have called on legions of angels to save Him from the torture that He endured (Matthew 26:53). I was trying to slam on my breaks to avoid disaster but the Lord Jesus said, I must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things and be killed (Matthew 16:21). The Lord Jesus went forward for the joy that was set before Him and endured the cross so that we could get safely to the destination of Heaven!
Do you appreciate what He endured for you? He soaked up God's wrath for your sins so that you wouldn't have to endure the judgment of God for all of eternity.
I'm pretty sure that if I had known ahead of time about the trouble I was going to have that day while I was on the road that I would have decided to travel another day, but the Lord Jesus knew from eternity past that He would be rejected by His own creation and hung on a cross to die so the payment for your sins and mine could be made in full! Now that's love! Have you accepted His gift of salvation for yourself?
Please trust in the Lord Jesus for your forgiveness today, all of the work that is required by God has been done by His perfect Son on your behalf. For our sake God made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). The one who believes in the Son has eternal life, but the one who rejects the Son will not see life; instead, the wrath of God remains on him (John 3:36).
Becky Kew shares good news at Sandy Bay
First Nation,
Manitoba, Canada. BeckyKew@ outlook.com
