After reading Will You Wave Palm Branches over at In His Name by Angela, where she shares reflections on Palm Sunday,I began to think what happens after all the fanfare of our adoration and praise. What happens after our hoop, holler, and hallelujah?
Isn’t rather easy to get with a group an sing and chant our Hosannas? Going with the crowd doesn’t require much effort. And as Heidi Klum says on Project Runway, one day you’re in and the next you’re out. And Jesus was no exception to this statement. One day the crowds were shouting Hosanna and singing His praises. Only to have the tides turn a short time later and those very same people crying out, Crucify Him!
At first glance, it seems rather odd that the same people (side note: I’m not sure the crowd included the same people but I found two interesting articles discussing this here and here) who saw something praiseworthy in Him could have such a change of heart and demand to have him killed. But they are not so different from ourselves. Inevitably we all describe a faucet of God’s goodness. And when the going is good, it’s easy to speak of that goodness. Yet when waves of trouble, unforeseen trials, and daunting challenges come crashing in our happy places, it’s then that our tides tend to change. Of course we don’t typically find ourselves crying out to crucify Christ during those moments. But we can find ourselves tempted to kill our praises, our testimonies of his goodness, and our commitment to certain spiritual disciplines when things don’t turn out quite as we expected.
I like the way Angela expressed it in her post:
The same people who waved palm branches at Jesus Christ and spread their clothes for Him to ride on were the same people who cried out, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” days later. How could that be? Sadly, we have only to look at our own fickle selves. Today we sing and dance and clap our hands in fervent worship and praise, but tomorrow when temptation and hardship and pain come we quickly forget what He did for us –Angela Joseph
Trouble has away of commanding our attention and it’s at those times that it’s most critical to chose to set our focus. As the Psalmist’s says in Psalms 119:123 (NLT) My eyes strain to see your rescue, to see the truth of your promise fulfilled. Life can be so filled with mayhem that we have strain to find that which is praiseworthy.
Photo Credit: Pearl via Lightstock
Related articles
- On Seeing the Good in Good Friday (incourage.me)
- Little known tidbits to help you appreciate Easter more (teachingsundayschool.blogspot.com)
- Lent 2013: Holy Heart; The Tears (swordofgoliath.blogspot.com)
- Palm Sunday Reflections (2encourage.blogspot.com)
Wanda,
This is a great post. Our praise can be like images in a mirror…as soon as we turn away, the image disappears. Thank the Lord, that He knows our weaknesses and came to live with us, for a while, to experience our trials and fickleness. Today, my heart is heavy with the hopelessness that the disciples must have felt with His crucifixion. They had no hope–they were afraid…but, oh, the coming of the next day, when they rolled the stone away…and, the story changed-their lives changed. Blessings to you~
Love that analogy of our praise like a mirror Cynthia. I can’t even begin to imagine how the Christ’s followers must have felt to see the one they had followed and served die along with their own hopes. But as you say thank goodness that wasn’t the end of the story.
Wow; this is something we all need to keep in our hearts when things don’t go quite as planned or when we are in a place of hardship and/or sorrow. Wonderful post Wanda!
Blessings and love to you dear friend for a day of joy and praise!
Denise
For sure it’s something I need to stay mindful of and reading Angela’s post just kind gave me a swift kick ;). Hope you’re Resurrection Day as been a blessed one thus far.
Good morning, Wanda! To my shame, I am guilty of this. Before anyone else is up, I can enjoy quiet time with God, appreciating who He is all He does. An hour later I am at my desk grumbling and complaining to colleagues about the unappreciative people who come through our doors. It’s not hard to imagine the fickleness of the people of Jesus’ day.
(BTW: My blog has a new web address: http://www.pameladwilliams.blogspot.com)
Oh how do I understand from personal experience as well Pam. I noticed you combined you’re two blogs. And thanks for forwarding the link to Arlee’s blog. It’ll be interesting to see what he shares in the A-Z challenge.
Wishing you a blessed Easter Sunday! May your day be full of Resurrection JOY!
“He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said.” (Matthew 28:6)
He is Risen! He is Risen indeed!
Celebrating with you the promise of eternal life – thanks the One who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life!
GOD BLESS!
Thank you Sharon. Wishing you & yours a Happy Easter as well.
Hallelujah! Happy Easter to you Wanda and family…..
Thank you Grace. Have a great week!
Hi Wanda! This is good! It is so easy to go with crowd and be hyped when everything is going good. The real test is what do you do when no one is around and and when things aren’t going well. Great insight! Thanks for dropping by and linking up…have a blessed week my friend!
So true Michell. It’s those moments when we are alone that really tells the story. Always a pleasure to link. Have a great weekend!