“Ponder this promise: Jesus, right now, at this moment, in the midst of your storm, is interceding for you. The King of the universe is speaking on your behalf.”- Max Lucado
“Christ Jesus who dies — more than that, who was raised to life — is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.”- Romans 8:34 (NIV)
Max Lucado concludes Chapter 8 of Unshakable Hope with comments on Romans 8:34. Hence, Pastor Lucado notes that the word translated interceding in Paul’s epistle connotes a strong verb. As a result, the Greek word carries “the sense of making specific requests or petitions before someone.”
Thus, biblically speaking, this describes the job of intercessors. They approach God with passionate and specific requests. Therefore, Max asks us to ponder this promise:
“[Jesus] is calling out to the heavenly Father. . . . urging the help of the Holy Spirit. . . . advocating for a special blessing to be sent your way. You do not fight the wind and the waves alone. It’s not up to you to find a solution. You have the mightiest Prince and holiest Advocate standing up for you.”
So, Max asks, where is Jesus? Just as Jesus prayed for Peter and stood up for Stephen, He promises to pray and stand up for you. And the firstborn offspring of this promise? Unshakable hope. Consequently, even though we’d long to see the road ahead and prefer every question answered, Jesus, instead, chooses to tell us this much: “I’ll pray you through the storm.”
Between now and our eternal kingdom in heaven, we can count on storms. For we live in a fallen world, and the devil still stirs doubt and fear. Most noteworthy, we also count on Christ’s presence and prayers in the midst of our storms. As Max exhorts:
“The devil’s best attempts to discourage us fall victim to God’s resolve to shape us. What Satan intends for evil, Jesus will use for good. Satan’s attempts to destroy us will actually develop our faith.”
Today’s question: In the midst of your storm, describe how Jesus intercedes for you. Please share.
Coming Monday: the Reformation Short Meditation, “With weapons of the Spirit”
Tomorrow’s blog: “The algebra of heaven – perfection”
