Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”
- John 13:7
The story of Jesus washing the disciple's feet is one of my favourite stories of the servant leadership, the love, and the example Jesus provided on what we needed to do as Christians. For today's devotion, however, we will focus solely on the verse John 13:7. In this passage, Jesus started to wash the disciples feet and the disciples were bewildered that Jesus was doing this for them. The disciples did not understand why Jesus was doing this.
At a small group bible study group once, we experienced the washing of each other's feet. While I did not mind washing others' feet, to have my feet washed by friends or people I respected was humbling and was surprisingly difficult to process emotionally. I thought a lot about that moment and it took me days to truly experience and understand the meaning behind the moment. I can only imagine how the disciples must have felt at the time. Jesus later explained to the disciples the meaning behind the act as a means to teach them what they should do for one another, and how to remain humble as a servant of God as no servant or messenger of God is greater than their master (John 13:12-17).
What we can learn from this verse and this confusion is that sometimes God performs acts of kindness and and demonstrates His love for us. Yet, we may not be fully ready or have the capacity yet to understand in the moment. God has a plan for us but often times, we may feel frustrated, disorientated, confused, impatient, or even annoyed that things are not going the way we expected. If we were to practice more patience and trust in God, however, eventually God's true intentions will reveal themselves. His message will become clear as we mature in Christ and as we wait for understanding. He will explain it for us and it will then take us time to digest the information, understand, and follow.
Reflection: Think of a time when you may have questioned God because you did not understand why something was happening or not happening in your life, but then realizing later on that God has given you exactly what you needed but you just did not understand at the time. What can you learn from this?
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This week's weekly devotional will focus on how understanding sometimes requires patience, by studying the story of Jesus washing the disciples' feet. You can find worship music on Christian Calm Radio channels as you dive into scripture to enhance your quiet time with God.