Thursday before Friday

Today is Thursday, the day before Good Friday.  A day that is only good in retrospect.

I have always had a fascination with John 17.  Jesus prayed this prayer the day before He was crucified.  On Thursday.

This was one of the last things He did on earth.  Like someone reminded me yesterday, if you aren’t going to pay attention to anything else someone says, you might as well pay attention to the last thing they say.

My fascination with this passage is that Jesus is praying.  But it is not just any prayer. In a situation that was traumatic and painful, he not only prays for himself, but He prays for His followers.

He understands that what is ahead will be very unsteadying for them.  It may cause them to question everything. Their faith and strength will be tested.  And they will grieve deeply. So He prays for them. 

He prays that they will be sanctified and unified.  That they will stand up to the evil one. That They would remember all that He had taught them. 

He is praying “so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them.”

On His last day, He understood what the disciples would go through. He knew how difficult this unexpected turn of events would be.  And He had sympathy for them. He was concerned for them. He prayed for them.

And He prayed for us too.  Those who would come to know Him.  In His last moments on earth, in the face of such trial and suffering, He prayed for us specifically. What a gift!

So in the face of new and unexpected, Jesus knows that this is hard for us. He doesn’t expect us to just accept it without difficulty.  He has grace and patience for us as we walk into the unknown.

And just as He had with the disciples, He has given us everything we need, in Christ, the Spirit, and His Word, to walk through this season of difficulty.  

But He has sympathy for us as we process it. He has grace for us when we forget.  He understands the confusion and pain.  

Keep your eyes on Jesus, who knows your pain.  Jesus who will pour out all that we need to get through it.  Who will carry us when we can’t go on. Who is present even when He seems absent. 

Take heart.  The God of the universe sees us.  Cares about us. And won’t keep us from hardship that is necessary for the good of the Gospel, but walks alongside us through it.

Praise the Lord who intercedes on our behalf in the unexpected and difficult.