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Into your hands
Saturday, March 28, 2015
Saturday of the Fifth Week of Lent
Ezekiel 37:21, John 11:54
I will take the children of Israel from among the nations to which they have come, and gather them from all sides to bring them back to their land … Jesus no longer walked about in public among the Jews.
From being dry bones separated and apart on the desert floor, God will bring the bones back to life and bring them together. His children will celebrate their coming home. The jubilee will last all day and everyday.
But there are days when I think I’d rather sit out in the desert, drying up, withering away into a sack of bones. On those days I don’t want to be with those Other People, the ones going to heaven along with me. It doesn’t seem such a pleasant prospect.
What’s wrong with me? Maybe nothing. Maybe I am just being an introvert that day, and I would rather spend my time alone with God. 75% of Americans are extroverts. They want to rub shoulders and go to parties and have lots of relationships. Introverts love God and each other in a very different way. One-on-one. Quietly. Deeply.
But shyness is not the same as introversion. And on those dark days when I just want to be alone, often I feel shy and insecure. Then the invitation to be with others threatens to unveil my fear and failure to launch.
Jesus has just raised Lazarus from the grave, and all around his sisters, Mary and Martha, the people are partying. But Jesus “left for the region near the desert.” What is wrong with him? Why is he suddenly shy?
He is not shy. Jesus wants to spend time with his Father. And he is not afraid. He knows the future days will be very intense, and he wants to prepare. He knows he will suffer, and that he will be nearly alone.
Father, your son Jesus prayed, “Into your hands I commit myself.” There are moments of every day when that is exactly the right prayer for me too. Give me the words at those moments, to set myself apart from others and be only with you.
http://www.christiancounselingservice.com/archived_devotions.php?article_id=1373
