Most of us long for miracles.  And Jesus’ perfect life, death on sinners’ behalf as the fulfillment of Passover, and His physical resurrection prove that He is willing and able to meet our greatest needs:  complete forgiveness and a new heart to trust and follow Him as our living King.  But even in the Bible, most of the journey with Jesus is lived in the moments between miracles.  In this 50-day series, we’ll consider some of those moments leading up to the next great miracle in the New Testament:  the fulfillment of Pentecost and the incredible growth of the Church.

The greatest man who ever lived, the Son of God Himself, had just risen from the dead in Jerusalem:  the home of Jewish faith and life for a millenia.  The temple was in Jerusalem, where Jesus had taught; the cross was just outside the city where He had died; and He might have gained the most notoriety by revealing Himself as risen in Jerusalem.  Yet, the very first instructions to His disciples in Matthew 28:1-10 was to meet Him on a mountain in Galilee . . . about 40-70 miles away (depending on exactly which mountain that was).

Not what I expected…maybe a bit of a surprise to them, too.

Providentially, as I write this I’m in an airport on my way to a week-long conference.  Part of me doesn’t want to go.  I’m leaving my family and many friends behind and headed to be with people I don’t know nearly as well.  Today is even my oldest son’s birthday, too.  Wow.  But the rest of me knows God wants me to serve at this conference.  The training is one of my responsibilities in my Army unit, and the people at the conference have requested my help.  It’s simply a matter of serving as He sends me versus staying at home, seeking to be served as I prefer.  The choice is pretty clear, but I still have to be intentional to look more to my risen Lord than to my own reasoning or preferences.

Going to Galilee must’ve reminded Jesus’ disciples of the same thing: that their living Savior came not to be served but to serve, especially those who know they need help.  The Lord had started His ministry there, among the Gentiles and others rejected by the “righteous” of their day.  But such broken people are exactly who the Lord came to seek.

Where is the Lord sending you this week?  It may not be where you prefer, but if you want to follow the risen Jesus, it may be a place you will find people you need what you can bring them because of Jesus.  After all, one of the greatest miracles others need to experience is to see others with changed hearts truly serving them.  Then, by God’s grace, you and I might have opportunity to tell them about the good news of our forgiveness that He’s secured and the change He’s still working in us.

I hope today’s thought and others in this series will be helpful to you as you journey with Jesus in the moments between miracles.

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