Trust Jesus no matter what

John 6:59-60 These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum. Therefore, many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, “This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?” Today, we learn that the teaching about the bread of life took place in the synagogue of Capernaum. We also learn that it wasn’t just the crowd that balked at His teaching. Many of His disciples had a hard time with the statement Jesus made. I think the difficult statement was in verse 56. “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.” Who can listen to it? Or we might say in the context of eating, “Who can stomach the idea of eating His flesh or drinking His blood?” Something to note about Jesus’ love for God and for these people: He wanted His Father to get all the glory. He didn’t try to be relevant or present His message in such a way that His listeners could understand what He said from a natural mindset. Rather, He spoke the truth of the gospel with 100% trust in the Holy Spirit to work in their hearts. I’m not suggesting that we shouldn’t try to communicate God’s word as clearly as we can, but ultimately, only the Holy Spirit can open the heart to understand and effectually believe. Like Jesus, we want to love them by speaking the truth as clearly as we can, but trusting God to do His work of drawing them to Jesus. There are many difficult or puzzling statements made by Jesus that are recorded in the gospels. If we focus on them, we may find ourselves plagued with many doubts. However, we aren’t responsible to do something with what we don’t understand. We are responsible to respond to what we do understand. Deuteronomy 29:29 attests to this fact. “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law.” The context is different, but the truth is timeless. Let’s not stumble or grumble about the things we don’t understand or that are difficult statements. Instead, let’s be amazed at the truth about Jesus that we do understand, apply it to our lives, and share it with others. The encouragement I draw from these verses is that in living to love with Jesus, there will be times I don’t understand what’s happening, but I can trust Him, nonetheless. In the following verses, we’ll see that is the attitude of some of the disciples. Bottom line is this: Love flows out of trust. May we trust in Jesus no matter what happens in our lives. He is worthy of our trust and worthy of the glory it brings Him when we do so. I invite you to become a partner in our ministry. Would you pray about becoming a regular supporter of Elijah Ministries and the Live to Love with Jesus ministry? I hope you will receive the joy and benefit of "giving it forward," so others may receive encouragement to turn their hearts to God and to live to love with Jesus. You may give online or send a check to the address listed at www.spiritofelijah.com/donate.