The Lord needs it...
... but He will always send it back.
“Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 3 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.’” Mark 11:2-3
The Lord needs it and will send it back shortly.
Have you ever really thought about this passage of scripture? Why does God need anything? He can just snap his fingers and make it so, right?
Jerusalem was buzzing that day. There was huge anticipation for the King the Jews believed was coming. They were ready for a revolution to change their circumstances. And because they were looking for a king, when one of Jesus’ disciples said, “The Lord needs it,” the owner of the donkey understood.
After all, rulers took things all the time. So, if the King wanted his donkey, he could have it….
But what might not get much attention is what else scripture says: and [the Lord] will send it [the donkey] back shortly.
Jesus sent the colt back.
God doesn’t ask us for anything that he won’t return to us in glory.
“Give, and it will be given to you.” Luke 6:38
A friend told me the story of how his mother, after his dad died, never spoke about it except to say, “God took him.” She didn’t say he died, he passed away, he went to be with the Lord. Only: “God took him.”
She never quite recovered from the loss of her husband.
It’s hard to contemplate the idea of God’s supremacy over all the world, without also blaming Him for when things go wrong. Especially when we lose our loved ones. After all, if He can turn things to good, then why couldn’t he have stopped the bad?
God has given us life and in giving us life, he also gave us free will. But He doesn’t play with us like chess pieces on the board.
So how then, does He make goodness from pain?
We are the answer to that question. He made us to love, to give love, to receive love. That is the goodness he makes of the pain.
The Lord is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works. Psalm 145:9
He doesn’t have to do it that way anymore than he had to tell the disciples to fetch the donkey from the village. He could snap his fingers, keep all the pain away or heal it instantly. He could just breathe the word and make it so. But God knows us, He knows our hearts, He knows our sorrow, our happiness, and our fulfillment. And relationship brings all of those. Relationships with our spouses, our children, our parents, our friends, and especially with Him who gave us life.
People who are in recovery and a part of a 12-step type of program understand this. Their healing is directly connected to their offering of service and help to others. Staying in recovery requires that service, not because it’s a rule but because the human spirit has a deep-seated need for it. Because true fulfillment is found in it.
Life is hard. There is hardship all around us. Some have suffered job losses, business collapse, sickness, and death.
If you’re hurting today, I am praying for you. I pray that the healing will reach your broken places. I pray that in the light you’ll find someone else’s broken pieces too. I pray in the words of Jesus…
Peace be with you.
I pray with assurance and faith in Jesus because I know…
The Lord needs YOU.
Love,
Candace Olivia Hardin Sessums