Going A Little Beyond

Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed,
for the LORD your God is with you wherever
you go.
Joshua 1:9 (ESV)

There's a small bookmark sitting here on the arm of my chair that I have made for the ladies who are in the Bible study I lead on Sunday evenings. I will give them out at our Sunday session, but for today, I sit looking at it. On one side is a lovely mountain picture, while on the back is typed just what you read above...the title and the verse.

In our Bible study we are looking at the life of Peter before we dig into the study of his two epistles. In our study of Jesus' latter days on earth as we are viewing the four Gospels, we are about to go into the garden with Jesus and His disciples. The dynamic there is interesting, and yes, instructive for us.

After Jesus' Passover meal with His group of disciples and with Judas having been dismissed to go finalize his betrayal plans, the group walked to the garden of Gethsemane. Just inside the garden, He asked His disciples to sit down and wait with Him while He went to pray. From that group, He asked Peter, James and John to go further into the garden with Him. By now, the other disciples would not have thought this to be unusual. For some time, that group of three had become Jesus' inner circle with Peter, he probably being Jesus' best earthly friend.

In that moment as that special trio of men sat down, Jesus asked something very simple of them. He wanted them to watch and pray with Him. However, Jesus didn't stay with them. My Bible translation says that then, Jesus went beyond them. Here was one of the most devastating times of Jesus' life. The time had arrived when he would be given over to blood thirsty soldiers. He knew from Eternity that this time would come. The evil of it all became more and more evident as He walked on the earth, growing up and then ministering to the sinful, flesh-and-blood people He had come to die for. Jesus was about to walk beyond the group...alone.

There are times in our lives when we, too, must walk beyond the group, be that group family or friends. When we face very difficult times in our lives, we usually want the company of friends and family. How many of us would go to a hospital for surgery minus any other human being at our side. Little children on their first day of school want their mothers to at least walk them to the door of the school or better yet, to their classrooms. Still, at times, we are asked to go beyond...alone. Even when one has surgery, the waiting room may be filled with lots of friends, but at the last, someone we don't know wheels us into the surgical suite where no one familiar can go. The child going to first day of school, still has to go into that classroom and take a seat with no parent around.

All of us at one time or another will be called upon to “go a little beyond” and to do it completely alone, humanly speaking. When called upon to go through those times, what do we do other than lose sleep or appetite? Such times can cause one to be weepy, become grouchy or even make foolish decisions that will be regretted later. All of those things can be very normal reactions for some, but hopefully not all at once. So, when life calls on us to go beyond and alone, what are some things that will aid us in this process.?

For those of us who are born-again Christians, our initial responses should be spiritual ones. We must realize that although at the time we are without other human contact, Jesus never leaves us. In fact, the Holy Spirit in us feels every breath we breathe or tear we shed. He's as aware of our physical pain or emotional stress even more than we are. It's hard for us to wrap ourselves around the fact that there is Anyone who knows us that intimately, but it's a fact backed by the promises of Scripture.

Scripture will be a comfort to us IF we know anything about it. It's hard to claim promises from anyone, let alone our Heavenly Father if we don't know what they are. Our Bible study group is going to be going into a study of Peter's epistles. Together, the two epistles makes up only 8 chapters. Peter through the Holy Spirit had at least one major purpose in it's writing...that being the preparation for and comfort during suffering. Christians of that day were already in various stages of persecution by the Roman government. Christians had scattered to various parts of the known world. Wherever they were, Peter wrote to them to encourage them in the hardest of times. His words would come to be life preservers for those, who although living in groups, were still walking beyond and alone. So Scripture is a major source of blessing in those “beyond” times.

Prayer is such a powerful thing and yet, we almost ask in an apologetic way for the prayers of others. When a friend is in deep crisis, I've often felt guilty telling the person that I will be praying. At the moment, it seems like so little compared to what the friend is enduring. It seems like there should be so much more to do for that friend. Think about it...I can call on the Greatest Healer with the Greatest power ever known to come to the aid of my friend. As a friend of mine used to say, “That ain't chump change.”

You and I can also learn to practice the presence of God in our lives. How many hours a day do we go without giving God a thought and the fact that He is with us through the thick and thin of life on a 24/7 basis. I love that verse in our beginning from Joshua 1 but I have to wonder about myself at times if I really believe that verse. He is present in the difficult times but also during the everyday comings and goings of our lives. He's interested in everything about your life and mine just as we were with our own children when they were very young.

We must also do all we can to keep spiritual influences flowing in our lives especially with Christian people. We need Godly influence in our activities, the churches we attend, the things we read and the friends we have. We can't have all of these things at all times to be encouragements in our lives, but I'm afraid we don't even think about the importance of trying.

So here I sit with my little bookmark. I have told Bible study ladies in the past that the teacher or preacher of God's Word will often be tested on their own teaching. I hope my little bookmark will be an encouragement for them, but for right now, it's me who is reading the back of mine for personal reasons. Last week I learned I have an eye condition that will probably require injections into my left eye. If done, it will be out of necessity and today's appointment will reveal what's to be done. In my humanity, do I feel somewhat fearful and dismayed....yep! However, I'm reading the rest of the verse that as I “go a little beyond” leaving everyone or everything familiar outside, I know I never go alone for the LORD my God goes with me.

Thank You Father, for Your presence in my life whether it be at home, in a doctor's office or at the grocery store. Your interest in me is beyond expression and I pray I will never take it for granted. In Jesus' precious name....Amen