Summer is here! The season when all pressure is supposed to fly away, all children are to be frolicking and joyful, all closets are to be cleaned and organized, and all glasses are to be filled with freshly-squeezed lemonade. Sometimes that does happen, and I love it; but sometimes that picture blurs a little and we find ourselves pondering a problem over our plastic cup of Acme lemonade water. Fortunately, God is not particular, and doesn’t mind grabbing a plastic cup and talking with us. This happened to me just the other day. Have you ever had the experience of reading the Bible and suddenly a passage you’ve read a million times goes slow-mo and it seems like you’re reading it for the first time? It’s like the Holy Spirit is the director yelling, “Hold it! Slow this part down! In fact, rewind it for her! She’s never gotten this part!” That was my experience. So I’m reading John (Isn’t John the most frequently read book? Haven’t I read it a gazillion times?) and this is the scene I come across in chapter 6: Jesus looks up and sees a mob of needy people heading straight for him, and he says to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” Philip was probably thinking to himself, “How in the world am I supposed to know? You’re in charge here!” And just when you’re entering into the panic and worry of the situation, you read the next line, which makes me laugh: “He said this to test him for he himself knew what he would do.” Of course Jesus knew what he would do. He wasn’t really wondering. He wasn’t wringing his hands, figuring out the distance to the nearest McDonalds, estimating the size of the crowd. He might have smiled and watched Philip out of the corner of his eye as he asked the question to see how Philip would respond. Here’s the paraphrase for my life: Jesus is walking beside me and looks up and sees a potential problem coming up. “Hey Trish,” he says (maybe with a grin I’m too busy to notice), “What are we gonna do here—this isn’t looking so good.” My typical response is: “I know! I was thinking that exact same thing Jesus! Yikes! It’s all falling apart! I knew it would! That plan, that kid, that test, that friendship, that dream—it’s all going down! Do you mind if I stop for a minute to worry and plan and fret until I figure it out?” I don’t think Jesus says, “Oh, brother,” but I’d understand if he would. Instead, we know from scripture that he does these things to test us, for he himself knows what he will do. He knows exactly what he will do! He isn’t confused, overwhelmed, upset, or worried. He sees our families, our husband’s responsibilities, our children’s weaknesses, our limitations, the problems in our churches, our friendships, our finances—He sees is all! And he promises to work all things together for good for those who love him. And that’s who I get to walk beside. By God’s grace, I think I’m slowly learning to look over at him when he asks that question, and say, “You –know what you’re doing Lord. You’ll provide all that’s needed. You always do.”
