Editor’s Note: This week at Faith Church we welcomed one of my current students, Molly Stouffer, as guest preacher. Molly is from Hagerstown, MD, studying Pastoral Ministries at Lancaster Bible College. Here is the first in her series of posts guest blogging her Palm Sunday sermon!
When I arrived at Lancaster Bible College, it was nothing like I had imagined. I believed LBC would be a chance to enjoy an independent lifestyle and freedom as a new high school graduate. I believed LBC would be awesome. I imagined making so many friends, struggling with classes, studying late into the night, and having a large group of friends who loved me and did a Bible study with me. I was so excited about these expectations. For years, I long awaited this life.
When I arrived at LBC, it was not this. I struggled to make friends, as the people around me quickly formed friend groups. As classes started, I easily excelled academically and found myself finished with homework by 4 in the afternoon. I didn’t find an on-campus Bible study that I related to. I was let down.
How I imagined college was so far off. I wrestled with disappointment in the beginning. I faced hardships due to lack of friendship. I faced pushback from students about my major. I felt so alone. I felt so upset. I felt the things I wanted slipping from my hands. How could God let this be the thing I longed for, for so long?
Much like my own disappointment, the Jews were highly disappointed. They were so excited for the arrival of their savior. They knew what they wanted, and when the time came for their Messiah, they missed Him. Matthew 21:11 explains the crowds thought Jesus was a prophet. They missed the mark.
While Bible college was not what I expected at first, it was exactly what I needed. God had a plan for my life. God had a plan for my college years. God loved me so much, He knew what I needed college to be, despite what I wanted and expected it to be.
Not just in my own life, but for His people, God gave them what they needed. He knew the messiah they needed was Jesus, not a strong military figure to deliver them from the hands of Rome. God loved them so much, to provide a living sacrifice to deliver them from their sins, rather than a military leader to deliver them from oppression.
As we enter Holy Week, take time to reflect on how Jesus was a part of God’s loving plan to redeem us.
Photo by Uday Mittal on Unsplash
Engaging Scripture 