Disturbed or Overjoyed

 

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

DISTURBED OR OVERJOYED

Matt 2:3-6

3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. 5 "In Bethlehem in Judea," they replied, "for this is what the prophet has written: 6 "'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.'"

NIV

Why wouldn’t Herod be upset, considering that he was a king and this king of the Jews that was supposed to be born would ruin his reign, by taking over as king? Although this was just a child, an infant and it would take many years for this youngster to be old enough to do anything. Still, because his reign was threatened, he wanted to know where this child was supposed to be born. Once again Bethlehem is the place which the prophets spoke of and that is because God spoke to them about the place and time He had determined to come to earth in the form of His creation. But the story here is not about Jesus, but rather about Herod. Of course, the point of all the gospels is Jesus, but here we need to deal with the fact that Herod was disturbed. This word, disturbed, is the best intention of the Greek, to lose inner calmness, to become agitated inwardly. Herod had taken his throne through violent means, wars, treachery, the shedding of blood, so he was not about to simply hand over his kingdom to some baby. This is the story of mankind in general, and our story prior to accepting Jesus as our King. But even as we did accept Jesus as our king, the question remains if we have given him complete authority over all aspects of our lives. Are there areas in our lives where we are just a bit disturbed, not wanting Jesus to be the king of that area? Do we still want to control certain aspects of our life? Do we still want to make our own choices, decisions about certain things, such as where we live, work, and worship? We have witnessed people leave a church because their feelings were bruised. How is that not refusing the lordship of Jesus, and wanting to oversee self, disturbed, just as Herod was over this king being born? We must make sure that we yield willingly to the Lordship of Jesus over every aspect of our lives, wanting Him to be our King, looking forward to His choices, His commands, His authority for He knows all things, and wants the best for us, far more than we could ever know and do. However, this requires that we quiet the self, the loud voice of self, and listen intently to the voice of our Lord and King. So often we use prayer as a means to satisfy the self-inflicted needs, or wants, instead of time listening for and to the voice of God. Yes, Jesus said we should ask. Yes, God said that before we ask, we will answer. Yes, the Lord wants to heal us, provide for us, give us our daily bread, forgive us as we forgive others, deliver us from the evil one, and all that. But God is not some genie in a lamp, waiting for our three wishes. He is the Lord and Master of the universe, the giver of life, who simply spoke everything into existence, and He created us for himself. Our purpose is not to be a Herod, disturbed because Jesus is here, but to be overjoyed that we have a Savior, who loves us and cares for us and directs us so we will be all that He intends us to be, which is to be transformed into His likeness.