Preparations We Do Not Know

This week I am reading Luke 21 to 24. I hope you will join me in reading slowly and prayerfully.

It was a portion of Luke 22 that caught my eye this morning as I was reading. The Feast of the Passover is near, and Jesus and his disciples will be in Jerusalem for the Feast. His disciples ask about where Jesus wants to eat the Seder meal. Not surprisingly, Jesus has a plan. The disciples don't know it, yet, but Jesus has already thought about it. Even more, he has put events in motion that will make the meal possible for the whole group of them.

Both Matthew and Mark also report this seemingly simple event (Matt 26; Mark 14). The instructions are clear:

When you have entered the city, a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house he enters. And you shall say to the owner of the house, 'The Teacher says to you, "Where is the guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?"' And he will show you a large, furnished upper room. . . (Luke 22:10 - 12) 

Luke implies that Jesus has already made an arrangement with the owner of this house. The disciples do not know it. It has not been reported when or where Jesus made these arrangements. But Jesus clearly has a plan. He has done work that his disciples do not know or see. Jesus had made preparations that his disciples do not appreciate until just the right moment.

And I find this to be a comforting thought. Jesus is at work in ways that I do not see. I do not know or appreciate all that he is doing. But he is making preparations for me (and you). He is making arrangements to meet my needs and to further his work. And when the right time comes, he will reveal all that he has done.

My prayer this morning is that I will trust in the Providence of Jesus this week. I pray that I will trust in his preparations and his arrangements. And I pray that I will have eyes to see those preparations at the appropriate time. Christ is up to something! And that fills me with a sense of anticipation!