Imagine the slow clip-clop of donkey hooves as Jesus, surrounded by cheering crowds, rode into Jerusalem! They saw a perfect vision of how they expected their King to arrive. They must have been ecstatic! Zechariah had prophesied exactly what they would see:
Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!
Shout, Daughter Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you,
righteous and victorious,
lowly and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey. Zechariah 9:9
The people there knew that just several verses later, Zechariah describes flashing lights, trumpets, and shattering storms as God takes his rightful reign over the world. How unbelievable that He would deliver them this violent justification in their own lifetime! They raised their palm leaves in celebration and laid their cloaks over the road.
But how much confusion and disappointment followed when they looked to the King they expected, and saw the tears on the face of Jesus. Luke describes His utter desolation when He looks out over the city:
As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.” Luke 19:41-44 NIV
How very confused they must have been when Jesus did not gather his followers and move in the direction to confront powerful Rome. Instead, he turned to the temple of His own people to root out their own corruption instead. And the conquering champion they expected to avenge them instead willingly allowed Himself to be beaten, humiliated, and ultimately crucified.
How could this be? What would it mean to follow this humble King instead of the one they imagined? To follow Him, as He asked, into service and forgiveness and love for others. To let go as to when the rewards would come, or if they come at all? What does it mean when the conquering principle appears to be simply waiting, praying, trusting, and letting the unfathomably deep plan fully develop?
This kind of waiting is far from passive. It is incredibly difficult. It’s the opposite of what I want, and it’s the wrong direction that I want the donkey to march.
But out of that waiting, out of that service, the white horse with the King of Kings will certainly emerge.
I saw Heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. Revelation 19:11
This week, relax your expectations about how things should be. Give up a deadline for something you want finished in a particular time. Instead, focus simply on doing a small kindness for someone else — just the next right thing. The point is not the particular kindness or service you choose to do, but that you do it without connection to the outcome. Just something that bends you nearer to God. Then you leave the result, and the timing of that result, to Him alone.
by Carie Grant
