STAYBLESSED

A Lesson From Judas

Jesus has ascended to the Father and the disciples are meeting in Jerusalem. All eleven of them were "joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary, the mother of Jesus and with his brothers." (v. 14) Peter begins addressing the other ten disciples about the replacement they needed to choose in order to fulfill the Psalms that said the "betrayer would be replaced." And apparently, they've chosen two men: Joseph (called Barsabbas) and Matthias.

"Then they prayed, 'Lord, you know everyone's heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.' Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles." (Acts 1:24-26)

Seems simple enough, right?

The eleven disciples made their decision and they chose Matthias. Joseph did not get chosen. He was left out. Put out to pasture, if you will. I can only assume this because the next chapter goes on to talk about Pentecost. There is no "and the disciples comforted and encouraged Joseph to continue to pursue the things of Christ" speech, which probably would have been nice, right?

Now, remember, I am no Biblical scholar, but as I read that passage, I couldn't help but identify with Joseph. How he must have felt. While I'm pleased that God showed them that Matthias was their man, what did He show them about Joseph? Suppose I'll save this question for Heaven.

Rejection isn't fun. It doesn't matter if you know to the very core of your being that what you were rejected for isn't God's best for you. It still hurts. It causes you to doubt who you are, what you're doing and even at times, how you look to others.

I have so been there. SO been there. At the place where you truly believe God is leading you and guiding you and prompting you to say this or that or move in this direction and then BAM! The wall comes up and you are standing dizzy from the proverbial slam against something you didn't see coming. Oh the pain.

Then I get a gentle nudge from the Holy Spirit reminding me of this: "I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for." (Jeremiah 29:11, MSG)

So I take a deep breath.
Calm down.
Say a prayer of surrender again.
And then, I try to remember that I don't want to be on someone else's path regardless of how alluring or attractive it may appear.

The Creator of the universe has plans for me. And I don't want to miss it.

Scripture Of The Day: "I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for." - Jeremiah 29:11 (MSG)

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