Jesus did things that were absolutely amazing.  He healed people of every kind of sickness or disease; nothing was too difficult for Him to heal.  He raised a number of people from the dead; which no one had ever seen happen before.  He cast out demons of every type and number.  Jesus had power over every one of the things that came as a result of sin in the world.  It is hard to imagine that people watching these happen could not or would not believe but our verse for the day tells us that very thing.  With all of the miracles that Jesus did, MOST of the people did not believe.

Jesus knew that was going to be the case because He inspired the prophet Isaiah to write about their unbelief hundreds of years before He showed up.  Since man first walked upon this earth he has been resisting the evidence of God’s love, grace, and power to follow his own selfish way.  For those of us who believe, it can be impossible to comprehend why others do not believe.  It can also be very frustrating when we see our own witness of Jesus being rejected and not believed.

We should never be discouraged or frustrated by this.  If they didn’t believe Jesus while He was on the earth in their very presence, what makes you think people are going to believe you?  To be discouraged or frustrated by that is an indication of pride; it is thinking that you could accomplish something that Jesus Himself could not do.  Discouragement or frustrations are not the right emotions to feel over the hardness of the hearts of others.

The right emotions would be sadness and determination.  It should sadden us that people have chosen to reject Jesus.  That sadness is born out of the knowledge that they are choosing to be separated from God for all of eternity.  That sadness is also because they are missing the power of God in this life to give them the life that they are so desperately seeking on their own.

We should also be determined to be a living witness of that power in our own lives.  We should continually be looking for a deeper relationship with Jesus so that the light from our life might break through the darkness of their hearts.  We should be determined to allow the Holy Spirit to daily soften our heart so that the hardness of their hearts does not infect ours.  Jesus wants everyone to choose to believe but the truth is that most will choose not to believe.  Be diligent to pray and ask God to soften their hearts and ask Him to use you to draw them to Himself.  Until He does, you just stay close to Him.  Jesus, help us to look to our own hearts first.

Daily Bible Reading: 2 Samuel 1:1-2:11; John 12:20-50; Psalm 118:19-29; Proverbs 15:27-28