May 1 – Caught Off-guard

        John 5:19 – "...the Son can do nothing by himself; he can only do what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does, the Son also does."

        John 8:29 – " ...I do nothing on my own, but speak just what my Father has taught me."

        Have you ever been caught off-guard? Have you been surprised by a situation, not knowing what to do or say, because you weren't prepared for the circumstance? I am sure that has happened to all of us many times. I don't believe that it happened to Jesus. While Jesus may not have known every detail that was about to happen in his life every day, I think that Jesus was distinctly prepared to handle every situation, every day.

        Let's set aside for a moment, the fact that Jesus was specifically and especially anointed by God's Holy Spirit to do miraculous works. I believe that Jesus was never caught off-guard (even if he was "surprised" or did not specifically know of an impending situation, e.g., the time that he awoke from a nap in a boat on the sea of Galilee, in a terrible storm). He gives the reason in the verses above. He spent time in communion with God, hearing God's voice, getting instructions, and then executing them. He had the perfect relationship with his Father, and was an obedient son. He had a mission to carry out, and he was not distracted from that mission by anything.

        We could take a lesson from the life of Jesus. How often do we read where Jesus went away to a solitary place in order to pray – by himself? Oh God, how I need the discipline to make time to get away and focus my thoughts on you. Good and specific works might actually flow from such a relationship.