I Can't Go There

by Bob A Clifton

By the time you are reading this it is a month past. I have had some heavy things on my mind, so I blogged about them in advance of the date you are reading these. One of those things was a particular bible passage I ended up in for my quiet time this morning. The passage is Luke 18:34. The passage reads like this in the New Testament:

The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about.

Back up a few verses and we see the backdrop for this revelation. Jesus and the disciples are in the midst of ministry. Jesus just got through telling a rich man that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter heaven. What appears to be a brief break in the midst of much ministry, Jesus shares a truth with only the disciples. He explains to them that we are on our way to Jerusalem and the Son of Man will be turned over, beaten, and then killed.

I really struggled with this verse this morning. When you look at parallel references to this verse, no other verse explains these truths as being “hidden” from the disciples. More or less, other scripture references say they did not understand what in the world he was talking about. Well why?

I ended up in a conversation with a friend this week that seems similar to this situation. Some things had unfolded in a close relationship of theirs. Some things were said, some gossip was spread, and now he is hearing it from a 3^rd, 4^th, and 5^th person. Not good! The way they explained it to me was “I am really angry at this person”. Problem is my friend struggles with confronting people. What I explained as standing up for a little of who they are. When I brought up the idea of saying something to the person that created the offense you could see the sirens going off in their head. No way!

Just like the disciples in Luke, my friend was not in a place to hear what God may want them to do. They prayed, but in the midst of the prayer had already formulated an action plan that would keep confrontation out of the picture. In the book I was talking about in my previous blog, it said that we spend half of our time learning how not to fear and the other half learning to unwind what we already fear. When we fear, do you really think we hear God and what he is trying to say to us?

Not that I have an answer, but it definitely made me think about what is hidden from me because I choose not to go there. Most of the commentaries on this verse say that the disciples were so focused on the God’s glory; they didn’t even see that suffering would be a part of that mix. Like I said before, I can’t speak as an expert on this, but I know some of the things that have helped pull things into the light in my past that I was trying to keep tucked away.

1. Do you have a good friend? Not just someone that listens to you, but someone that gets in your business. These friends are tough to find. I have been enjoyed this kind of relationship with a good friend of mine in Lawrence for a couple years now. Calls my life to the carpet all of the time. I thought that kind of friend would be painful, but it has turned out to be a cool drink of water in a desert like world. I have recently been enjoying that same friendship with a guy in Topeka. We get together once a week and let our kids play in the park while we dig into each other’s lives in open and transparent ways. I have enjoyed his boldness and willingness to speak truth to me in my tough places.

2. Do you read your bible? I mean do you open up scripture in anticipation of what God will want to share? Daily intake is critical in this area. To take in scripture one time a week or month will not give the Father enough room to speak in ways he may want to come after you; meaning go after your heart. If you struggle knowing where to get started, pick up a bible reading plan. They are in the front or back of most bibles. If not there check out the internet, you will find plenty.

3. Prayer. Not the prayer you can jabber while driving down the road for 10 miles not even knowing what you might have said. Prayer like asking God to open up places in your heart that you have shut him out. I like to ask God if there is anything he may wants to say this part of me.

I struggled with this verse this morning because hiding things is a coping mechanism for people that do not have anyone to trust. If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, and have asked him to come into your heart then you can trust Him. He will go after things in your heart that you may not want to have anything to do with. He may reveal things that you do not want to hear. Just remember, since we have a loving Father he is not here to punish us, but to grow us up. Let him speak whatever he wants to say and then go after those parts that he brings up. Step down into the pit and face the mental lion in your life.