Dear Explorer,
Re-Read Luke 24:6-12
And
Re-Read John 20:1-10
The report by Luke said that they wondered about what they had seen.
The report by John stated that he saw and believed, but it was immediately followed by a disclaimer saying that he didn't really understood that Jesus had risen from the dead – just that He believed that He was gone!
Now if you look back at Luke 24:8 you'll see that Luke states that when the women heard what the angel said, they remembered that Jesus said He would rise again on the 3rd day.
The 2 disciples didn't encounter an angel, but they did see the empty tomb. I believe both the men and the women were in deep shock over the death of their friend and the One who they believed was the Messiah.
So, don't be too critical of them for needing time to process. You've probably heard all your life that Jesus died and was raised to life on the 3rd day. They were new at this!
I also want to encourage you to remember that it takes some people longer than others to process new material.
Some people readily accept God's explanation with incredible faith. Others take their time and think about it and ponder and wonder and are slow to process it – but eventually come to the conclusion of faith. Both are followers of Jesus. There's no right or wrong way to process situations. There are no right or wrong ways to grieve. And we mustn't be critical of people who take longer to process – or be critical of those who believe instantly. Neither is wrong – they are just different reactions. So, the critical thing is to process the information and continue to process it until you come to the conclusion that God wants you to come to! Being convinced that God is in control is essential in all situations – some of us just take more time than others.
Sometimes churches bicker and fight over decisions that often could be settled if we just gave it a little more time to let everyone process it. As followers of Jesus, we must be patient with those who process more slowly.
One morning, on July 16th of 2018, God spoke to me and said He needed me in Florida – not California. Within 10 minutes, I had processed it and was ready to obey, but I knew that David and I were a team and I couldn't do this without his agreeing also. So, I simply told God that my answer was, “yes, I'll obey you, but….”
That “but” was that I asked Him to tell David without me having to say a word. I knew that this was a joint call and that I couldn't go by myself. So, I told God that I would not tell David what to do! In fact, I wouldn't even mention this to him until he responded to God's call himself!
Middle of that very afternoon, David called me from work and asked if I wanted to go out to dinner. I said yes – but I was very curious as to why we were eating out since we were finally home after an extended time of vacation with lots of eating out. I thought he would want my cooking. While we were eating, David said that he wanted to go home and check the figures for our retirement plan. I pretended to be surprised and ask him if he was considering retirement. He said that something happened inside of him – he was at work, but he didn't want to be there. He wanted to be in Florida. He couldn't put his finger on it – but he wanted to go home and check and see if there was any way that we could retire now instead of later. That was the beginning of several amazing miracles that resulted in our leaving California 6 weeks later. On that occasion, our processing of God's “orders” was equal, but I was willing to wait until David was ready.
At other times, we've had to wait patiently for each other to get on track with God's plans. I remember one time when God revealed to David that we needed to change churches. He revealed the plan to David first, but it took me another 3 months before I recognized God's leading and was ready to be obedient.
I just want you to know that people are different, and you may have to wait patiently and let God do His work in their lives. God's timing is perfect.
As we continue this study, you'll see several examples that show that all of Jesus' followers had to figure this out individually for themselves. Each one processed their relationship with Jesus uniquely and personally. Following Jesus is an every-man-for-himself decision – no one can make that decision for you.
In His service, dale
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