What or Whom?

I always have to chuckle a bit when it comes to my memories of St. Patrick’s Day.  Not that my thoughts really have anything to do with the individual who is remembered as the Apostle of Ireland, but of an event that repeated itself continually over the last twenty years or more.

About a week or so before my birthday my mother would always call me up and invite me and my family over for dinner in order to celebrate my special day.  Being as my birthday is only a few days previous to today’s celebration of St. Patrick’s Day, my Mother would always ask me if I wanted steak or corned beef and cabbage.  Each year, without much consideration I would immediately reply steak, as I knew that she and my Dad would broil up some delicious and selective cuts of meat that were of a much more tender variety than what we could afford while raising a family of four kids!

Well, you probably guessed it… when we arrived at my folks, my Mom would invariably inform us that she decided on the corn beef and cabbage because they hadn’t had it in such a long time!  So I would look to my kids and we would quietly smile and hide our disappointment at the same time!  Today’s memory of that yearly ritual was bitter-sweet since my Mom and Dad’s passing over the last year.

As the years went by, I learned to expect the unfolding of the menu for my birthday dinner at my parents, and simply enjoyed the fun and fellowship that we had with them at that special gathering.  As I read the story of Jesus walking on the water and His rescue of His terrified disciples from John 6:16-21, I related my learned birthday menu experience with that of the disciples.

Since this was early in Jesus’ earthly ministry, the disciples were still learning about the miracle worker who they had joined up with.  In the midst of the storm, when they were most vulnerable in the middle of the sea, they did not recognize their Deliverer coming to them on the water.  Instead they were terrified and thought the worst of the situation instead of the best!   As the years went by though, they became more and more knowledgeable of how Jesus operated until the point where their actions became a mirror of His after His departure to heaven.

Have you ever had an experience when you didn’t immediately recognize the hand of Jesus as He interceded for you in the midst of the situation?  We probably all have.  His appearance may not always be as noticeable or spectacular as it was when He defied the very laws of nature and walked across the water to the disciple’s boat, but we can rest assured in knowing that He will always arrive on the scene as we place our faith and trust in Him!

With this in mind, I guess I could actually update the foundation statement of this blog from “What are you expecting?” to “WHOM are you expecting?”  And that leads me to the inevitable question of are you expecting Him to come on the scene of your daily life?  Are you expecting the worst or His best?  Well, the best reply for these questions would be to agree with Joshua when he told the Children of Israel that “as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15 KJV)  With that kind of determination you’ll always be expecting and ultimately experiencing His best!  Have a great week!  Stay in tune to His Word, and keep asking yourself… “What or WHOM am I expecting today?”