Knox Holy Week 2020 Devotional - Day #4: Wednesday
Luke 22:7-13
“Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. 8 Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, ‘Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover.’
‘Where do you want us to prepare for it?’ they asked.
He replied, ‘As you enter the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him to the house that he enters, and say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ He will show you a large room upstairs, all furnished. Make preparations there.’
They left and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover.”
What an unexpected day that the man carrying a jar of water must’ve had—preparing a room for a Passover feast for a large group of people, but not knowing who it was actually for. I wonder if he felt foolish or if he had to explain himself to his wife or friends. I wonder if the disciples ever got used to the way Jesus operated, if they went expectant to find the man with the jar of water or if they went shaking their heads. Thankfully whatever they might’ve been thinking, they listened and found the place prepared for what we know as the Last Supper, so important to our faith as it taught us about communion and Jesus as servant-King.
Like so often in the way God works, people are asked to do unexpected things with little to no explanation, but in the end the plan makes sense. Like Noah building the ark far from any bodies of water or Moses leading the Israelites to freedom by bringing them to the shores of the Red Sea or Mary saying yes to becoming pregnant as a virgin.
Strange instructions from God that lead to awesome results are dependent on listening and obedience. First, you have to hear from God, and then you have to obey what you’re told—no matter how strange. Even if it means preparing a meal for twelve people when you haven’t invited anyone to supper.
I have experienced God speaking through his Holy Spirit-led strange prompts that have unfolded in incredible ways when I’ve obeyed. I believe we are all able to listen to the Spirit and receive guidance in our daily lives in this way. It could be a prompt from the Spirit to go somewhere or not go somewhere, or an idea that feels like it was dropped into your brain from God and ends up blessing someone. For example, recently I was discouraged, and three separate friends from different social circles sent me the same song on the same day. I realized God was trying to get through to me and when I listened to the song, the bridge contained words of truth about God’s love that spoke directly into a place of worry in my life. I am so glad those three friends listened to the prompting of the Spirit to message me that day!
Let’s cultivate an expectation for God to speak to us today. Let's be receptive to strange orders that end up contributing to God’s wild and loving plans.
If you feel unsure if something is from God there are two ways to “test” it:
Does what you heard obey Jesus’ commands to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind” and to “Love your neighbour as yourself”?
Ask a trusted Christian mentor or leader to pray with you about it.
PRAYER PROMPTS
Pray for the persecuted Church around the world who so often rely on prompts from the Holy Spirit for gathering and preaching the good news. We have so much to learn from them, pray that the global church might experience revival through the example and wisdom of the persecuted Church.
Ask God to speak to you and include you in his plans to bless people and the world, no matter how strange the prompt!
