GOOD TO ME
"As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus gave them orders not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead." - Mark 9:2-10
At the time of the Transfiguration, Jesus’ earthly ministry was coming to a close. He acknowledged that He was the Messiah and predicted His death and resurrection. He took the risk in allowing himself to be seen by Peter, James, and John with hopes of strengthening their faith for the challenges later endured. In the same way, at certain times in our lives, God gifts us with unique experiences of His grace and fills momentary glimpses of joy to help sustain us as we face our own pain, suffering, yearnings, and grievances.
The transfiguration invites me to become more courageous, trusting, and forgiving to embrace the sorrow that inevitably accompanies in following Jesus. It reminds me of what happens from the inside out when our hearts are made new, our spirits breathe in new life, and that new life seeps through the outer veneer of self-reliance, control, impatience, and willfulness. It tells me to let go of my grasp and open the door for Him to walk into my mess. God wants to lean in, see my story up close, and love me in my smallness and hiddenness. God is more concerned about who I am becoming rather than what I am doing and calls me to dip my toes in the water of yes and trust that He will bring glory out of my circumstance.
God wants to infuse this Lenten season with the kind of love in which I can swaddle myself and find healing in His nearness. He only asks for me to choose to meet Him in prayer as He rewrites the worst moments without changing the situation. He encourages me to wrap my fingers tighter around hope while He steadies and repatterns my thinking. He continues to reconfigure me before I have the language for what will transpire ahead. By allowing Him to see me in the unseen moments, I give Him permission to write His signature over my broken story and deepen my gratitude of how good He is to me.
Lord, sew your understanding and perspective within my own heart and daily response.
Tam Lontok