Matthew 15:19 – Ad Crucem Christi

If I look at my life over many years I will recall that there have been many mishaps along the way.

What is a mishap? Webster’s defines it as an unfortunate accident, bad luck, misfortune. In other words, something that has taken place that was not expected, should not have happened. Something that could also have taken place through poor choice, carelessness. There are many ways in which we could see the meaning of the word, mishap.

Often mishaps can lead to disastrous effects which may even last a lifetime after the experience. Sometimes it could be a freak happenstance.

I can’t imagine that there is any one of us that hasn’t, at one time or another, experienced a mishap. Some poor souls go on, time after time suffering mishaps.

Many of these souls become angry and embittered at life, feeling that it has dealt them an unfair blow. A great number openly blame God for their misfortunes.

A mid eighteenth century New Thought author, James Allen said, “You are today where your thoughts have brought you and you will be tomorrow, where your thoughts take you.”

What James Allen was saying is that our lives are the direct result of how and what we think.

In two of the many scriptures relating to the issues of thoughts, Luke 9:7 and Matthew 15:19, Jesus alludes to the fact that thoughts result in emotions and actions. He reassures us that the only humans who are not affected by this are children.

On closer examination of the above, what we will find is that thoughts lead to actions, actions produce result and finally result produces consequence. Either consequence for our benefit or consequence for our obstruction.

The Bible is full of stories to support this fact and probably one of the most well known of all is that of David and Bathsheba.

David was the greatest and most loved King in the history of the Israelites. Loved, not only by his people, but more importantly, by his God. God said David was ‘A man after His own heart.’ He never spoke of any other person in this way. Yet, one night David gazed at a beautiful woman bathing on her rooftop and lusted after her.

David & Bathsheba — David was the king who united Israel and Judah. It was through his lineage that Jesus, the Messiah, would one day be born. As a boy, he was selected to be a musician for King Saul. He also killed the Philistine giant named Goliath. David became best friends with Saul’s son, Jonathan. Saul became very jealous of David and plotted to kill him. Jonathan helped him escape. David became King of Israel and made many mistakes. He was married when he saw Bathsheba. He fell in love with her. She was also married. David arranged for Uriah to be killed in battle. He then married Bathsheba. Their firstborn son died, but she later gave birth to Solomon. David had several children with troubled lives. His son, Ammon, raped David’s daughter Tamar. Absalom, David’s third son, resented David. He became king of Hebron. A battle took place between Hebron and Israel. Joab with David’s army killed Absalom. David’s life was filled with sin, heartache, grief, and forgiveness. David ruled from about 1005 to 965 B.C. and was thought to be the ideal king. He was the writer of Psalms.

His thoughts led to him committing adultery and ultimately murder. The consequences of his actions, brought on by thoughts was the death of two sons he deeply loved, unseated from his (physical) throne, and prohibited from building God’s temple. He died a man of great sorrow.

Let’s return to the issue of mishaps. How many of us are blinded to the fact that, what we term as ‘mishaps’ in our lives are in fact, like David, the results of thoughts that led us to do things, or make decisions that, in the end worked against us.

This article was prompted by my realization, a few days ago, that Jesus never faced any mishaps in His thirty-three year lifetime!

What picture emerges from the Gospels, concerning His life?

He was obedient to God and Man. Luke 2:52

He was a man driven by a purpose, from which he never deviated.

He spoke to people and they were healed, He spoke to the elements and the were stilled. He spoke to wine and it multiplied.

He never prayed to the Father asking for help, He simply spoke and it was done!

The issues He faced in His life were the results of His obedience to God

and not His own will. Nothing occurred in His life that could be vaguely

described as a mishap.

Considering these points, we could be forgiven for thinking that He achieved this by virtue of the fact that He was God in a human body. But many places in the Bible testify that he was human in every way, Hebrews 2:17 being only one of these. He was born of the seed of God via a surrogate mother.

We could be forgiven for suggesting that He was surrounded by divine protection and so avoided all mishaps.

What the Bible tells us however, is that Jesus was a man of prayer, constantly in communion with The Father. He said that the Father and He were one. He gained Godly wisdom, enabling Him to always think like The Father thought and thus make decisions that would always protect Him from mishaps.

Finally, we could be forgiven for thinking that we could never be like Jesus or do the things He did. Again Jesus Himself tells us, “I tell you for certain that if you have faith in me, you will do the same things I am doing. You will do even greater things, now that I am going back to the Father.” John 14:12

Let’s say goodbye to mishaps and live for beneficial outcomes.

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