Joel M Bradshaw

1Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, 2saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”–Matthew 2

Welcome to 2023! I am grateful for those of you journeying with me as I daily blog through the Bible. 2022 saw over 5000 blog views in the first full year. I am thankful for you who follow the blog and listen to the Masterclass Theology podcast (resuming with new episodes starting later this week!).

The magi will teach us something this morning. David first pondered this great principle. You can hear David both wrestling with this matter and also rejoicing.

O LORD, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.

Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,”even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you. (Psalm 139:1-12)

Jonah also found this principle out the hard way.

And they said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, that we may know on whose account this evil has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. Then they said to him, “Tell us on whose account this evil has come upon us. What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?” And he said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” Then the men were exceedingly afraid and said to him, “What is this that you have done!” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them.

Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us?” For the sea grew more and more tempestuous. He said to them, “Pick me up and hurl me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you, for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you.” Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to get back to dry land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them. Therefore they called out to the LORD, “O LORD, let us not perish for this man’s life, and lay not on us innocent blood, for you, O LORD, have done as it pleased you.” So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows. And the LORD appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. (Jonah 1:7-17)

The principle is this: God meets us where we are at. Like Jesus’ famous shepherd parable in Luke 15, God seeks after the lost sheep. We don’t know much about those magi. Most likely they were pagan, polytheistic, Zoroastrian astrologers who divined meaning and messages from the stars. And it was in those very star charts that God met them.

I have had MS for over half of my life. For decades I have wrestled with the sovereignty of God to seek answers to the WHY questions. I no longer do so. I know why God sent this terrible disease. It was to meet me where I was at. At the time, I was a selfish young man who oriented my life around the things that gave me pleasure. I was addicted and depressed, lonely and searching for purpose. I made excuses for hypocrisy and played games with God’s grace. I still look back with regret at that time of my life.

But, It was in this season that God surprised me with a disease that we normally don’t link to 20 year olds. I became numb and weak. I was both shocked and humbled. I had to depend upon my family, friends, and even my fraternity brothers to make it through my day!

God in this season called me to pastoral ministry. But first, I needed to learn to depend upon God. I needed to grow in my trust in Him. It was God’s sovereign plan to give me MS. He met me where I was at and he led me to him. Just like those Magi. Just like Jonah in his hypocrisy. I wonder and rejoice just like David.

I am not angry with God for this. MS has deepened my faith for it taught me to daily depend upon God. This trust is the basis for how I now counsel others in their depressions and anxieties. God met me where I was at and continues to do so.

I invite you to ponder your life and how God has written your story.–JMB