He Could Have But He Didn't

“Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?  But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen this way?” Matthew 26:53. “He saved others…but he can’t save himself!  He’s the King of Israel!  Let him come down now from the cross and we will believe in him.” Matthew 27:42.

When I think of how challenging faith can be I am reminded that sometimes it requires action from us while other times it requires us to wait and watch.  These verses show that Jesus could have interfered with God’s will and purpose for His life, but instead allowed the circumstances to play out.  He knew that He carried the power of God within Him, and could have come down from the cross.  He fully understood that enduring the mockery and hatred was all part of the plan to carry out the will of God.  Every ounce of belief on His part was knowing that the circumstances before Him were the divine fulfillment of a promise previously given. 

We all have been ordained to walk out this part of the earthly calendar.  We have all been given a purpose in this walk that impacts the kingdom.  Sometimes, God calls us to act and other times He calls us to ‘remain in the inevitable.’  While others tempt us to ‘come down off the cross’ and agree with them…to join them…to deny God’s command…we are to stay committed to God.  We are to trust Him with our circumstances and have confidence that whatever He brings to pass must be critical for our spiritual development and purpose.  ‘If we have walked with God for any length of time, we have each probably faced times when faith required us not to act when everything within us wanted to take action.’ Believing God, Beth Moore, p. 92

It is when we are aligned with God’s activity that man cannot hurt us.  He will fight our battles for us.  When we are living out the circumstances that God has determined for our lives He will give us everything we need to triumph over those times.  Just like with Jesus, God will provide a way to gain victory over our suffering.  We can count on Him to save, rescue, redeem and resurrect.