THOSE PESKY DETAILS

Numbers 16:41-18:32; Mark 16:1-20; Psalm 55:1-23; Proverbs 11:7

 “On the way they were asking each other, ‘Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?’  But as they arrived, they looked up and saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled aside.”

 “Give your burdens to the Lord, and he will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.”

I am ashamed to think how many things I haven’t done because the details seemed outside my ability to see or resolve.  I’m fairly good at saying, “Here I am, Lord.  I’m willing.  Show me the way.”  But I might as well save my breath, because what I’m really saying is, “There are a few things we need to take care of first, Lord.  I’ll start when You show me how not to fail.”  In all honesty, I’m usually only truly willing to begin when I can see from the start my way clear to a victorious finish.  No one, then, should be surprised that I spend a lot more time just warming up or frozen in the starting gate than actually out on the Spirit’s course.

It’s pretty tough to comprehend, let alone actually claim, victory in any race or task if we refuse to even start until we know all the pitfalls and are certain we can overcome them. Maybe that is why some of us are more familiar with disillusionment than abundant life. Christ tends to reward only those willing to begin His faith journeys without knowing the destination or end result.  Frequently, when God calls us, He does not tell us where, what or when the finish is. So, those unwilling to adventure outside the bounds of the known or certain may find it hard to discern, much less follow, God’s call.  But those willing to begin to journey into the unknown just guided step-by-step by the Spirit can anticipate great blessing, even – maybe especially - if the blessing is not obvious at the start.

Take Mary and Salome, for example. They knew their call was to embalm Jesus. They knew the stone was in front of the tomb, blocking their way.  They started out anyway. And their reward was not something they would have believed at the start even if they had been told. It was WAY better than anything they could have anticipated or imagined!

Sometimes, the key to success is just getting started. God calls us to faithful obedience, not necessarily “success” as we define it.  But more often than not, when we start in faithful obedience, we end up being successful beyond our dreams, too.  Let’s not let the details keep us off the path Jesus invites us to travel with Him.