Daily Devotional for Tuesday 18th June
With Jesus leading the way
I once read that there were a thousand stars for every grain of sand on the earth!
I couldn’t believe that and passed it off as a poetic exaggeration. How could there be, when the number of grains of sand was so unimaginably huge? But – check it out on Google. The best guess now is that there are TEN thousand stars for every grain of sand…
And the disciples (the “Twelve” in verse 32) had a similar credibility gap when thinking about who Jesus was. They just could not really make sense of the fact that He was more than just a man – that He was God also. And we know that when the events described in these three verses actually happened, they still didn’t quite believe it. Presumably, Thomas was one of the Twelve, as was Peter. But when push came to shove how did they react? Initially, at least, with betrayal and disbelief.
You must have seen the Wizard of Oz film, where a motley crew of characters set out to find what they’re missing: Scarecrow (brain), Tin Man (heart), and Cowardly Lion (courage). The Twelve were a bit like that, weren’t they? “One thing you lack…” – you can almost hear Jesus saying this in the way He looked around at each of them, on that road to Jerusalem. What did they lack? Each one of them?
We might see this better as the chapter unfolds – but for today I will leave you with some hymn words as a prayer:
How sweet the name of Jesus sounds
In a believer’s ear !
It soothes his sorrows, heals his wounds
And drives away his fear.
It makes the wounded spirit whole,
And calms the troubled breast;
‘Tis manna to the hungry soul,
And to the weary, rest.
