Thy Will be Done

I finished the Gospel of John this morning and was mentally stuck on a verse, which then led me to even more verses and finally ended at Luke 22:31, "And the Lord said, "Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat." This verse can be disturbing, especially when we think about Satan asking permission to trouble us.

I believe that things aren't any different today when it comes to Satan. He would like nothing more than to separate us, strain us, and trouble us; causing us to stumble in our faith. The beauty of this verse is that Satan has to ask for us and that evil cannot touch us without God's consent.

Which brings me to the original truth that prompted these thoughts, in John 7:30, "Therefore they sought to take Him (Jesus); but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come." They, who sought to harm Jesus, could not touch Him because it was not in the Lord's will to do so at that time. No evil can come upon us or harm us without God's permission, for He alone is sovereign and He alone sets the time. This doesn't mean God causes evil, but sometimes it is allowed in order for His perfect plan to be established.

Which brings me to His perfect plan and John 2:4, "Jesus said to her, "Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come." Sometimes, out of complete love for us, God will allow things to happen that weren't originally planned, but only that He receives all the glory, honor, and praise. Mary, Jesus' mother, asked for Jesus' help at the wedding, and He responded that it did not concern Him because His hour had not yet come; meaning His Father's will. Yet, He granted her request anyway out of love for His mother. This tells me that God loves us so much that sometimes He will allow things to happen outside the hour (His timing) because we expect, like Mary, for Him to show Himself.

I could be way off with this, but multiple times, Jesus states that His hour has not yet come proving He was following the will of His Father. And again, in John 8:20, "And no one laid hands on Him, for His hour had not yet come." They again could not harm Jesus and evil could not prevail no matter what. Nothing happens without the Father's consent, and His will established. John 12:23 "But Jesus answered them saying, "The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified." All in God's perfect timing, "The hour has come," that Jesus would be crucified to fulfill His earthly mission, providing forgiveness and eternal life to everyone who believes. And evil believed it prevailed, yet the Father allowed for them to finally take Jesus, in His timing.

I am encouraged by these truths and I hope I explained them clearly; but I see evil daily in this place and I am comforted to know that "the hour" is God's time and nothing can touch us without His consent.

My Bible verse journey is summed up in John 19:10-11 "Then Pilate said to Him, "Are you not speaking to me? Do you know that I have power to crucify you, and power to release you?" Jesus answered, "You could have no power at all against Me, unless it had been given you from above...."

~The hour is the Lord's~