Expecting or Desperate?

March 11, 2008

I'm strangely (hopefully supernaturally) drawn to verse 40 of our Easter text... "... they were all expecting him." (Luke 8:40-56) I do a lot of expecting when it comes to Jesus and his power. I expect him to move in power. I expect him to heal. I expect him to powerfully and miraculously move in my life and ministry. Why don't I see more of what I expect?

I have a friend who is a missionary in the middle east... in war-torn Lebanon. He tells me how the good news of Jesus is really taking hold. Not Christanity, mind you, but Jesus. There are people there who are desperate for a Savior. They are crying out and seeking in amazing, painful ways. My friend, Carl... the missionary... says with a straight face, "And Jesus is actually raising people from the dead there!" Hmmm... I didnt expect that.

There's pieces of me that's not real sure I even believe that. I want to. I want that kind of resurrection power to pulse through my life, but do I actually believe it's possible? On this day, a better question for me may be: How desperate am I? The bleeding woman and Jairus, found in Luke 8, were desperate. The people in the middle east are desperate. Those I lived with for 9 days in Kenya were desperate. I expect. They are desperate.

I am hoping and wishing to experience the rez power of Jesus. They do. Does the power of Jesus reverberate through lives that are desperate ... instead of those whose are demanding and expecting? I'm anxious for Easter. I want to wrestle with and teach this amazing text. Can't wait to hear what God says through me!!