Good Grief, Good Friday

I had planned to work only a half day, so I left for work early without eating breakfast and worked though lunch trying to finish my assigned tasks. Normally this is no problem but today I find myself in church with my stomach sending messages to my brain that it’s time to over eat. As I think about my cravings to over indulge myself, the words of the prophet Isaiah, written over 700 year before Christ, ring in my ear.

“Yet it was our infirmities that he bore,
Our sufferings that he endured”

“He was pierced for our offenses,
Crushed for our sins”

“By his stripes we were healed”.

Those words spoke to my soul as never before. I had to hold my breath and grit my teeth to suppress the emotions. God forbid anyone should see me with tears running down my face. For some reason I finally understood what Christ had done for me.

John’s gospel speaks of Simon Peter cutting off Malchus’ right ear in the garden and I think of how my ears have been cut off, metaphorically.

Well, I’ve totally forgotten about my stomach. This has been a good Good Friday.


Thank you, Jesus, for fixin’ my ears.
Thank you, Jesus, for all Your suffering.
Please, Lord Jesus, give me the wisdom to know Your will and the strength to carry it out.

Amen

3/21/2008