Transformed – teen devotion – February 27, 2022
One truth shared: All of the surprising truths about our Savior Jesus and about life in his kingdom are uncovered alone by his Spirit.
Whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.
2 Corinthians 3:16
Uncovered by the Spirit
The sky was torn apart, and a voice boomed from heaven. The Spirit descended on Jesus as a dove. John the Baptist must have thought, “I didn’t see that coming.”
“Well, I didn’t see that coming.” How often did that thought occur during the life and ministry of Jesus?
Another time, Mary the mother of Jesus asked him to help at a wedding because they were out of wine. Jesus turned water into wine. How many wedding guests thought, “I didn’t see that coming”?
Jesus called uneducated, untrained fishermen to be his first disciples. They would be the first missionaries of his in the world. Who could have seen that coming?
Jesus warned that a life of following him would not be easy. Rather, the blessed life is enjoyed by those who weep and those who are poor. Jesus called his followers to love enemies and pray for the good of those who persecute them. It’s an upside down, radical, unexpected life. Did you see that coming?
What did the disciples expect when they went with Jesus to pray on that day his outward appearance was changed before them? (We call this his transfiguration.) Surely they didn’t expect to see the glory of the divine Christ or Moses and Elijah, famous leaders of the past.
How could they expect this path of the divine Christ to lead to a cross of death but back to life again at an empty grave? How could you? The entire life of Jesus is unexpected and surprising in every way. He never does what we would do. It never happens the way that we’d imagine.
If you believe these things, it means God’s Spirit has removed the veil from your eyes so that you can see. If that’s not you yet, ask God’s Spirit to help you see Jesus as he is in all his surprising ways. Ask for God’s Spirit to help you see more, to understand better, and to believe more deeply all that he has done. And this is the promise of Jesus: “You will see greater things than these” (John 1:50).
Prayer: Lord Jesus, send me your Holy Spirit so that I can see higher, brighter, and deeper all the things you have done for me and for the world. Fill my heart with longing to see what you will do next. Amen.
