Friday, August 23, 2019

"Your Weakness"

"And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature." Luke 19:3

Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus but couldn't. His problem wasn't the crowd, it was his own weakness. The crowd didn't prevent him from being able to see Him- although it posed a slight hindrance- but it was his height that was the real hindrance. He was a short man and could not see over the crowd.

We tend to blame others for our "inability" to see the Lord. We tend to point fingers at someone else if we aren't as close to the Lord as we should be or desire to be. When they fell in the garden, Adam and Eve both tried to blame someone else because their relationship with the Lord was broken. Granted, sometimes people make it more difficult to serve the Lord. For example, if your spouse isn't serving the Lord, if you're a young person and your parents aren't serving Him, they will, in some cases either discourage you or forbid you to pursue your service to Him. But more times than not, it's no one else's fault- it is our own.

What is standing between you and the Lord this morning? What is standing in the way of your relationship with Him? What is standing in the way of your "seeing" Jesus? Zacchaeus's little stature stood between him and the Lord. For you perhaps it's bitterness or unforgiveness toward someone. Perhaps you are angry with the Lord because you feel as though He "betrayed" you because He didn't come to your rescue in a situation. Perhaps guilt or even pride is holding you back. We have to examine ourselves and look within our own lives. That is where the main hindrance usually lies. But we can't stop there. If we truly desire to know who He is, to serve Him, to have a relationship with Him, then we are going to have to follow the example of Zacchaeus. He found a way around his own weakness- he climbed a tree to make him taller so that he could see Jesus.

Our way around it is to simply "confess" it. Acknowledge your weakness to God. Acknowledge what it is that is hindering your relationship with Him. Once Zacchaeus climbed that tree, nothing hindered him any more. Jesus saw him and told him to come down because He was going to his house. When we do the same, Jesus will say the same to us- "come down" (that weakness is no longer a hindrance), "I am coming to your house" (we will have the fellowship/relationship we desire).

Have a great day. Our own weaknesses often prevent us from "seeing" Jesus.

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