ENCOUNTERS WITH THE LORD CAN OCCUR UNEXPECTEDLY, AT ANY TIME!

BIBLE PASSAGE:
A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander 
and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, 
and they forced him to carry the cross. 
(Mark 15:21)

MEDITATION:
Feast of the Unleavened Bread:
A weeklong celebration to remember when God brought the Israelites 
out of the bondage of slavery in Egypt.
God was worshipped in the homes and cities where the people lived, 
but on this annual celebration, they would travel to Jerusalem 
to join with others in praising and thanking Him for their deliverance.

The first day of the Feast of the Unleavened Bread, 
making it a special Sabbath day.
Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a 
special Sabbath. Because the Jewish leaders did not want the bodies 
left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the 
legs broken and the bodies taken down. 
(John 19:31)
 
It was such a special day that the Jewish leaders did not want 
the crucified bodies of anyone remaining on the cross. 
They did not want anything to tarnish this day of celebration as they 
remembered the time when God brought the Israelites out of bondage.

Although both Roman and Jewish leaders appeared to be in charge
of the sentencing and death of Jesus Christ, He Himself said of His life, 
"No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have 
authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command 
I received from my Father." (John 10:18)

Simon of Cyrene had traveled to Jerusalem so he could participate 
in this celebration and worship of God for the freedom He had given them.
He may have taken his sons Rufus and Alexander with him on the journey.
If he did, 
then we can imagine the two of them asking questions all along the way.
“What will we see there?” “What are we supposed to do?” etc.

We can also visualize Simon telling his sons to stay close to him 
so they would not get separated in the large crowds.
More than likely he wanted them to understand 
how much joy and praise they would experience.

Simon had no idea what would happen to him personally, 
but he would become a reluctant participant in the crucifixion of Jesus.
It would be an encounter with Jesus
that he could have never expected, or predicted.
As the soldiers led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who 
was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and 
made him carry it behind Jesus. (Luke 23:26)

Suddenly Simon was drawn into an encounter with the Lord.
If his boys were with him, we can understand his concern for them 
as he was forced to carry the cross that would be used to crucify Jesus.
We can visualize him struggling with the weight of the cross 
while frantically scanning the crowd to look for his children.

Imagine the panic and confusion in the minds of his boys.
The two of them were probably filled with excitement 
in anticipation of a glorious celebration, and now this!
They were witnesses to a cruel and inhumane treatment of a man, 
and their father was a reluctant participant in the process.
Instead of being filled with joy, they felt sadness, fear, and confusion.

They may have never seen someone die, 
let alone someone being killed, and angry people yelling, “Crucify Him!”
But here they were, watching a badly beaten man being taking to Golgotha,
and having spikes driven into his hands and feet, 
then a cross lifted up so that all people could watch him suffer and die.

They probably weren’t aware of the injustices 
and the death sentence given to this innocent person.
All they knew was the barbarian cruelty they were witnessing.

After Jesus said, “It is finished”, 
we can only imagine the feelings of Simon and his children.
Although Simon was probably trying to figure out 
what all of this meant to him personally, he knew he had to 
console and comfort his boys, and explain what had happened.

On the return trip home, we can guess that this boys had many questions 
which were quite different than the ones they asked on the way to Jerusalem. 
Whether or not his boys were with him or not, we know 
that Simon’s encounter with the Lord probably changed his life forever.

Paul also had an unexpected encounter with the Lord 
and it changed him from creating calamity for Christians 
to becoming a crusader for Christ! 
He was going about his ‘normal’ business of persecuting Christians,
when suddenly the Lord appeared in His life and it changed him forever!

ACTION:
It can happen to any of us, at any time.
We can be going through the day like any other day 
and suddenly we can have an encounter with the Lord.
At that moment, we have to make a choice to either 
embrace the encounter and make significant changes in our lives, 
or reject it and continue in our own direction.

Christians can also experience new encounters with the Lord
as He calls us to new levels of commitment. 
We may feel ‘comfortable’ with our current way of faithful living, 
but He may have new ways for us to use our faith 
to reach lost souls and encourage other believers.

It might take us out of our comfort zone, but one thing we can be sure of,
‘whatever He wants us to do will benefit us, and others’.
It can be scary to do the uncomfortable, 
but if we could only see the blessings to be received from participating 
in something new for the Lord, we would embrace the opportunities.
It is during times like these that we can 
prove our trust in Him by putting our faith into action.

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, thank You in advance for any new opportunities 
You may have for me. Help me to prepare now to receive and respond 
to whatever You want me to do. You know how difficult it can be for 
me to get out of my comfort zone, so I pray that You would strengthen 
my faith and trust in You so I will have confidence to pursue anything 
new You have for me.. Help me to look past any uncomfortableness to 
the blessings that await me when I obey You. Help me to reject the 
negative thoughts from Satan, which are designed to discourage me 
from being obedient to You.”

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