Two-Minute Manna

The Lord is a sun to warm us and a shield - or, literally, shade - to protect us. Grace is unmerited, unearned, undeserved favor. Glory, or chabod in Hebrew, means “substance” or “weightiness.” What a dynamic combination: the substance of glory and the gift of grace.

If I’m walking with the Lord - not perfectly, but simply if my heart is right - I can be absolutely assured that there is not one good thing He’ll hold back from me. We make our requests to Him. We talk things over with Him. We cast our cares upon Him. And we can know with absolute certainty that whatever we desire will come our way - if it’s a good thing. If it doesn’t come our way, it simply means it’s not truly good.

Even as she worshipped Him, Jesus realized Salome had another agenda. I picture Him with a smile on His face and a gleam in His eye as He said to her, “Tell Me what you want. “

“Can my two boys, James and John, be on Your right hand and left hand when You come into Your kingdom?” Salome asked.

Jesus looked at her and said, “Can they drink of the cup that I drink of and be baptized with My baptism?”

James and John answered, “Yes” (Matthew 20:20-22).

A few days later, at the foot of the Cross, Salome must have heard the thief say to Jesus, “Lord, remember me as You come into your kingdom” (see Luke 23:42).

And when Jesus said, “Today you will be with Me in paradise,” His answer must have hit her like a ton of bricks. No wonder He didn’t grant her request. She was unknowingly asking that her boys be crucified on His right and left.

If you’re praying and things aren’t happening, know that the Lord sees what you don’t see and knows what you can’t know. Remember Salome - and trust Him to do what’s best for you.