Ahead of Schedule…

Sleet pelts against the roof and pitters on the porch. I hear the wintery storm transpiring just beyond my front door. Ahead of schedule. This type of weather usually blows through in January, not late October. I squelch the urge to ‘do’ and recline on the couch with my coffee. Slowly sipping. The fire crackling in the fireplace as it comes to life giving warmth to the morning.

It seems there is a societal push to be ahead of schedule. Even my watch supports this theory. Last Sunday, it chimed mid-afternoon, “Angela, your move and exercise rings are usually farther along by now. Find some time to get moving today…”

A few hours prior to its chime, I sat in church, tears streaming down my face, as our congregation partook of the Lord’s Supper. Just prior we sang Mercy Me’s “Even If”. As my mouth sang those words my soul clenched its deeper meaning. I’ve sung this song many times, but the lyrics pierced.

“I know You’re able and I know You can
Save through the fire with Your mighty hand
But even if You don’t
My hope is You alone” (Mercy Me)

As I prepared to take the bread, I thought of Jesus’s even if moment before the crucifixion.

And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”
Matthew 26:39 (ESV)

If there’s another way, Father. But if not, Thy will.

I felt my shame, my mistakes, my shortcomings, my doubt, the huge vastness of my sin. And I saw the darkness of my iniquities falling upon His shoulders. The pain, heartache, suffering to the point of blood streaked tears (Luke 22:44) that Jesus experienced before the road to Calvary. The cup did not pass from Him.

I drank the cup. The juice trickling down my parched throat. His blood. Covering me. My debt transferred. Cancelled.

In an ahead of schedule world, stop. Sit with the Spirit. Allow the fullness of Jesus’s love and sacrifice to envelope you. It’s yours. Freely given. And no one is exempt from it no matter how wayward our path.

Reference:
Mercy Me. Lifer, Fair Trade/Columbia, 2017. CD.