“When Jesus saw that they were ready to force him to be their king, he slipped away into the hills by himself.” (John 6:15 NLT)

Jesus just fed the five thousand. Five loaves and two fish had proven more than enough with the Savior’s blessing. Our pittance is profound when surrendered to Kingdom purpose. The crowd was wowed and started making plans to forcibly call Him king. Jesus disappeared into the hills and far away from what had to feel like temptation. A crowd crowning would have been infinitely easier than the twisted wreath of thorns He’d eventually bear.

We read this scripture and realize that while our personal agenda pushes Jesus away, surrender pulls Him close. We are to conform to His plans, not Him to ours.

We discussed this at length in last night’s Bible study. The topic was the Transfiguration and most specifically, Peter’s impulsive proposal to put up three tents and make the moment last forever.

“As Moses and Elijah were starting to leave, Peter, not even knowing what he was saying, blurted out, “Master, it’s wonderful for us to be here! Let’s make three shelters as memorials —one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” But even as he was saying this, a cloud overshadowed them, and terror gripped them as the cloud covered them.” (Luke 9:33-34 NLT)

Again, man is proposing an easier route. To their credit, Jesus, Moses and Elijah ignore his impertinent statement and stick to the agenda at hand, the Father’s will had to go forward. The meeting wraps up and God, Himself, gives His gold stamp of approval on the agreed agenda.

“Then a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, my Chosen One. Listen to him.”” (Luke 9:35 NLT)

In that moment, God the Father sealed the deal publicly on exactly who His Son was. He made it clear that He expects obedience.

Part of following Christ is surrendering our plan to His will. Surrender to a perfect Savior breeds intimacy with our Savior. Peter eventually figures it out and learns to lead the church God’s way. Have we?

God’s will is going forward with or without us. The most effective and least painful response we can have is getting on board with Him. The oft-repeated prayer is “Thy will be done.” In four words, we align our hearts with His agenda and surrender to His flawless sovereignty.

Lord, we see that You have a perfect plan. We don’t want to force our way, we couldn’t if we tried. Instead, we seek to align ourselves with Your will. Have Your way through us. Amen.