Donkey (because I don't that people will respond well to "jackass")

I pretty much love the church I’m going to.

This week has been a good but hard one … I’d resigned myself to the fact that God has this plan to prosper (and not harm) me, to give me a future and a hope, but that He’s said I have to wait. For what? I’m not sure. An open door, I’m guessing … probably for His timing ... or for all the pieces to be in place. And while I’m waiting, I’m to pursue relationship. Not job leads. Not interviews. Not a Masters degree in some unknown field. Not intermediate income. Relationship. Makes sense, right? Yeah, not to me either.

I also came face to face with the fact that my faith is pretty weak. I don’t wholeheartedly believe that He will do half the things I've heard Him say. I believe His will will be done, but I seriously doubt that I’ll be intact by the end of it. My desires are obviously not His desires. He isn’t really concerned with my comfort. Yet I’m compelled to follow Him.

This morning, Palm Sunday, Pastor Brett delivered what was the last installment of a series of messages on “Expanding the Kingdom”. He took this one from Mark 11:1-10, Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem.

In this passage, the people thought they were welcoming in a king that would rescue them from Roman rule … God did that, but not in the way that the people thought. He was coming to die for their sins, so that they could be in relationship with the Father.

Pastor Brett decided not to focus on the entry itself, but rather on the young colt that Jesus rode in on. It was unbroken (had never been ridden, and probably didn’t like the idea of having anything on its back), bound up (tied to a post, most likely) and far away from where He was. But Jesus had his disciples loose it from the place where it was tied up, brought it near and broke it in just in time to ride it in a parade welcoming His arrival into Jerusalem … that colt had no idea the plans that God had for it while it was tied up.

Something Pastor Brett said in the midst of his teaching stuck with me – “Jesus’ goal is to break you. He’s looking for unbroken people … He wants to ride you to places you didn’t even know you needed to go. Allow God to break you so you can become what He wants you to become. Invite Jesus to get on … you don’t know where you need to go. You want His destination, not your own.”

The fact that I don’t know where I’m going has never been more evident to me than it is in this place. I guess that explains this season a bit more ... I didn’t realize until this week just how much I still needed to be broken.