After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God” (John 6:66-69; all Scripture quotations are from the English Standard Version).

Jesus’ bread of life discourse offended many, even some who had followed Him for a while and claimed to be His disciples. He had said that He was the true bread that comes from heaven—the manna described in Exodus 16.

I am sure some people said things like, “Who does He think He is? Does He really think we should eat His flesh and drink His blood? Is He crazy?”

Jesus often calls us to believe, expect, or do things that make little sense. It is easy to get offended by Jesus and His teachings. Sometimes we do not understand. Sometimes, we understand Him and do not like what we hear. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:9). We do not understand because an eternal, all-knowing, infinite God and His Son in human flesh exceed what we can imagine.

We can make excuses. We can try to say He did not mean what He said. Or, we can answer like Peter. Maybe he did not understand Jesus either; the disciples often misunderstood Him. However, they had come to believe that He was the Messiah, the Son of God. Even if they did not understand Him, where else could they go?

Where can we go? He gives us everlasting life. Who else can do that? Even if we do not understand Him, we need Him. Let us trust Him even when we do not understand what He is doing.

Lord, increase our faith when we do not understand what You are doing or saying. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Have you ever struggled to trust God when it was hard to understand what He was doing in Your life? Share your thoughts in the comments box below.

Copyright © 2024 Michael E. Lynch. All rights reserved.