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Matthew 21-22

"He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty." Psalm 91:1

Do you ever find some parts of the Bible hard to believe?  When Psalm 91 claims that the Almighty will "deliver you...will cover you...no evil befall you...no plague come near..." these words can seem unbelievable especially when one is experiencing sickness, pain, or suffering.  Where is God's protection?  Where is God's covering?  

If you ever feel this way, you are not the first Jesus follower to grapple with these questions.  In Matthew 21, when the crowds waved palm branches and shouted "Hosanna", which means "save", they were crying out for Jesus' salvation. A few hours later, Jesus amazed his followers when he spoke and a fig tree withered.  Responding to his confused followers, Jesus proclaimed "...whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith."

Believing Jesus is not easy.  In a world of pestilence and destruction, trusting in God's deliverance and protection seems impossible - unbelievable.  Why do we find it so hard to believe God?  What are the walls that block out faith?  On the other side of the resurrection, we might find it easy to mock the skepticism of the Pharisees and Sadducees who came to challenge and test Jesus.  But I wonder how often we too challenge and test God's trustworthiness.  

I'm convinced that the core blockade of faith is a personal agenda.  Isn't it true that like the palm branch wavers when we pray "save us" we have a personal expectation regarding the results?  Could it also be true that if the King of Kings were to invite us to his wedding feast, we might decline the invitation because we already have our own plans - our own agenda?  My prayer for you today is that God will turn over the tables of your personal definitions of deliverance and protection.  May you afresh discover the refuge of abiding in the shadow of the Almighty and holding fast to him in love. Like a baby crying from the needle prick of vaccination, may you discover that it's not despite our present pain and suffering, but rather through it, God's protection is overshadowing you.  Trust him.  He's inviting you to a wedding feast.  Lay aside your personal agenda and in faith come to him.  "...whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith." 

~Kendall Keeler

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