Begin with 2 minutes of silence.
Scripture : Mark 9:2-9
2 And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, 3 and his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them. 4 And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus.5 And Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 6 For he did not know what to say, for they were terrified. 7 And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.” 8 And suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them but Jesus only.
9 And as they were coming down the mountain, he charged them to tell no one what they had seen, until the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
Devotional : Letting Go of Expectations
by Annie Crawford
I spent a summer living in Tacoma, WA, without a cell phone, in a house shared with ten other people, working at a day shelter. As Jesus led me there, I anticipated what I would learn: how to serve, give, and deny myself. I followed God up the mountainside, into the unknown, with a checklist of what God would reveal to me.
"We must loosen our grip on our expectations on the mountain, follow Jesus, and let Him reveal to us, whatever He would like to reveal."
Instead, that summer, I needed to let go of the image of God I wanted God to reveal, to truly see what God was trying to show me. I still learned how to serve and give, but Jesus revealed Himself to be bigger, more beautiful, more merciful, and more inviting than I had ever known before.
We must loosen our grip on our expectations on the mountain, follow Jesus, and let Him reveal to us, whatever He would like to reveal. Peter, James, and John, though terrified, followed Jesus up the mountain, and stayed until Jesus led them away. Even through their confusion, the disciples kept their eyes and ears fixed on Jesus. Jesus desires to reveal more and more of who He is to us. Whether it is mystifying, amazing, or even terrifying, when we glimpse this image of Jesus, we are forever changed.
Question to Consider: What is God revealing to you about God’s self in this season?
Prayer:
Father, I long to see you - really see you; not my ideas of you or my expectations of who you are or what you would do. Draw to my awareness the expectations I have of our encounters that I am unaware of and give me grace and strength to loosen my grip on them. Surprise me, shock me even, with a new revelation of who You really are. Amen
Conclude with 2 minutes of silence