Christian Counseling Service -- Devotions

Leaping and laughing and praising God

Sunday, April 8, 2001

Luke 19:28-40
When Jesus came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices...
"Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!"
"Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!"

Oswald Chambers writes in his devotion for April 9,

"Being saved and seeing Jesus are not the same thing. Many are partakers of God's grace who have never seen Jesus ... If you only know what Jesus has done for you, you have not a big enough God; but if you have had a vision of Jesus as he is, experiences can come and go, you will endure "as seeing Him Who is invisible." ... Jesus appears to those for whom he has done something; but we cannot dictate when He will come.

Often Palm Sunday fills up my senses. The flowers are beautiful, the breezes in the spring air are cool on my face, the sunshine in the bright blue sky is warm and sweet. The smells and sounds and tastes of new life are in the air.

I'm full of energy today. Experiences of the day lift my spirits. I am quite aware that experiences of tomorrow may drop them again. And so I am thankful for Jesus, not what he's done, but for him.

When our son Marc was three he came running out of Sunday School on Easter morning shouting, "He's alive! He's alive!" This enduring memory for Margaret and me is an enduring moment of recognition for him. Marc saw Jesus as he was, and that moment alone has been enough to sustain him in many difficult moments.

God promises never to leave us or forsake us. The power and presence of Jesus are real, substantial, and separate from my imagination, my will power, my positive thinking. But the time and manner in which Jesus shares them with me, when he "shows" himself to me, are his to choose.

You hem me in, behind and before; you have laid your hand on me.
... Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
If I make my bed in the depths, you are there. (Psalm 139)

Devotions Archive

Leaping and laughing and praising God

Sunday, April 8, 2001