¹ At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the reports about Jesus, ² and he said to his attendants, “This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead! That is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”

³ Now Herod had arrested John and bound him and put him in prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, ⁴ for John had been saying to him: “It is not lawful for you to have her.” ⁵ Herod wanted to kill John, but he was afraid of the people, because they considered John a prophet.

⁶ On Herod’s birthday the daughter of Herodias danced for the guests and pleased Herod so much ⁷ that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked. ⁸ Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” ⁹ The king was distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he ordered that her request be granted ¹⁰ and had John beheaded in the prison. ¹¹ His head was brought in on a platter and given to the girl, who carried it to her mother. ¹² John’s disciples came and took his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus.

Dear God, I wonder how much of this Jesus expected. Was this a blow to him? Obviously, I am sure it caused him grief, but did it make him have any doubt about his tack? Did it give him a little fear about his own eventual fate? Certainly it had to have crossed his mind, but it didn’t change his path.

There are times when I want so badly to know the future, but the truth is that I am a chicken, and if you told me about some of the suffering coming my way I would likely not be up to it and try to avoid it. I go back to my decision to leave my stable job at the beginning of 2003. That started a three-year, painful journey, but the fruit of that journey was more than I could have imagined. In this case, Jesus knew the journey and he knew the end, and yet he continued on his path. I am so grateful that you keep that kind of information from me even though it can really frustrate me sometimes.

Father, I know that the rest of this year has some pain in it regarding the situation with our building. The fixing of the building alone will bring pain. It is going to require all that I know how to do and even more to get this job done. But I trust you. I trust that you will help me to know what to do at any given moment. Please help me to represent you well in every instance and to lean on you and let you work through me in every instance. Help me to find peace in every trial and to not expect any ease of life for myself, but only glory for you.