The Lord Has Need Of It

When you find things in the law that you don't understand, you should study to figure out why it is that way, because what you'll find is gold. You'll find fairness and justice and mercy in the law, even in what we've just read, though all it's talking about is what to do with when someone's ox kills somebody and what circumstances, and if you strike your slave in this way and that happens. What you'll find if you understand the intent of the law is you'll find God's mercy and his kindness and his provision. And so don't leave those questions unanswered in your mind because it'll bear bad fruit in your life. Let's pray. Father in heaven, we thank you for giving us your word, even the parts that we don't understand or that are difficult to our senses. Father, you are wise and holy and perfect, and everything that you say, everything that you do is good. We are weak, Father, and too often we sit in judgment of you and your acts.

and your word, because we don't understand. We ask that you give us understanding, and we pray that you would confirm in our hearts trust for your word and for you. Father, we are weak people who have many needs and many burdens. We have people without work, people who are sick, people who are struggling, who are poor, who are fearful, those who have... little ones in their wombs. We have those who are raising children. We have those, Father, who are struggling to conceive. Father, we have those who are single and want to be married. We have those who are married and are tempted to think that they ought not have gotten married. We have so many struggles and so many temptations, Father. You know them. You're sovereign over all these things. And we trust you, Father, that you will bring them to a good conclusion. And so we pray for the sick that you'd heal them.

and those without work that you'd provide for them, and those who are fearful that you'd strengthen them, and those who are angry that you'd give them peace. Father, those who are bitter, we pray that you'd convict them and that you'd remove from them this heart of bitterness. Father, those who are single, we pray that you'd provide for them spouses. Those who are little ones, we pray that you'd protect their mother and the child and that you'd bring them safely to delivery. Those who are raising children, we ask that you would bless their efforts as parents, help them to be faithful in the nurture and instruction of their children. And Father, be a God to their children from their youth, we pray. Be merciful to them, to these little ones, and help us not to cause them to stumble, but to see them grow up to love you and to fear you and to keep your commandments. Father, we pray that you'd give us ample opportunity to love the lost and our neighbors. Help us to speak and act in a way that glorifies you. Help us to call sin, sin. Help us to call people to the cross of Jesus for the forgiveness and cleansing of their sin. Help us to act by faith. Father, we pray that you would make us faithful in small things, that we might be given big things in the future. Now, as we come to your word, would you open it up to us? Would you feed us from it?

Help us not to be resistant, but to be humble, to hear and to see and to repent and to believe and to give glory to you for your kindness that you've extended to us in Jesus. We pray in his name. Amen. This morning, we're going to be studying Jesus' entry into Jerusalem. It's typically called the triumphal entry. And so this is an event that typically you study once a year. And it's the text, it's the event that you would study on Palm Sunday. It's a week before. it's a week before Jesus is put to death. And so everything that's been going on, all of the teaching that Jesus has been giving, the miracles and all of this stuff, if you've noticed, it's always been saying on his way to Jerusalem, as he was going up to Jerusalem, as they were headed toward Jerusalem. And so now what we're going to see is his actual entry into the city. And there's lots of things that we could study on this text. I was thinking earlier this week how many times I've preached on the triumphal entry, and it's probably only been three or four.

But one of the difficulties, at least that I have when I preach on a familiar text is, well, what are you supposed to do? Am I just supposed to say the same thing again? Or am I supposed to say something new? And on Palm Sunday, because the context is Easter coming up, Palm Sunday, Good Friday, Easter, I often want to talk about the... His kingdom and the fact that Jesus is coming in as a king and he's coming in as a humble king. You're preparing for his death. That's what he's preparing for. That's what during Holy Week we're preparing for. And so that's usually the thing we're talking about or the thing that we're paying attention to when we study the triumphal entry. This week, I'd like to focus our time on another aspect of this text. And it's...

What I want to focus on this morning is when the disciples go get the colt. You know, when Jesus is coming into Jerusalem and he tells them, go on ahead of me, you're going to find a colt. It's going to be like this. Just untie it and bring it to me. That's what I want us to focus on this morning. So we're going to read the text, but that's the part we're going to key in on. We're not going to talk about the branches and we're not going to talk about the people yelling and, you know, Hosanna to the son of David and all that. We're going to leave that for Palm Sundays to come.

And I want to focus on the disciples going and getting the colt. So would you please stand for the reading of God's word from Luke 19, verses 28 through 38. After he had said these things, he was going on ahead. I'm sorry, he was going on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. When he approached Bethphage and Bethany, near the mount that is called Olivet, he sent two of the disciples, saying, go into the village ahead of you. There, as you enter, you will find a colt tied on which no one has yet ever sat. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, why are you untying it? You shall say, the Lord has need of it. So those who were sent away went away and found it just as he had told them. As they were untying the colt, its owner said to them, why are you untying the colt? And they said, the Lord has need of it. They brought it to Jesus and they threw their coats on the colt and put Jesus on it. As he was going,

They were spreading their coats on the ground. And as soon as he was approaching near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the miracles which they had seen, shouting, Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven and glory in the highest. This is the word of the Lord. You may be seated. So what Jesus tells these disciples to do is a very simple thing, right? We understand it's very straightforward. Go into the city village ahead of you. As you enter, you're going to find a colt. He describes the colt and he says, bring it to me. The very simple command. He's basically, this is like going and getting groceries. Like going and saying, oh, can you run to the grocery store and get some milk? Can you go to the run to the, you know, go get a bag of apples. Like it's a very simple thing to go do. It's not complex. You're not like, I wonder if the store is going to have what I want. It's a very simple, understandable thing to do. Go into the city, get me that colt, bring it here.

And I want to note the simplicity of this command at the beginning so that we can, with our words, say, you're right. It is a very simple thing he's telling them to do. It's not hard. There's not a bunch of steps. It's not, go and you're going to have to figure it out. It's just, go over there, get that, bring it back to me. Sort of like fetch, you know? When you have a dog and he's sitting there and you wait and you go, you throw the ball and they go get it and they bring it back. It's this simple, what they're being told to do.

And so while the task is a very simple thing, it's not the whole story. In one sense, it's a very easy thing to do. In another way of looking at it, it's a very difficult thing to do. It's an intimidating thing to do. Why is it an intimidating thing to do? Because you're stealing. If anyone else except Jesus told you to go into a city, grab somebody else's stuff, and bring it back to them, and if the owner comes to you and says, What are you doing? Which in effect is, that's not yours. Why do you think you have the right to just take my stuff? We would understand that to be stealing. And so if you were in these disciples' shoes and you were told to do something, did all of you realize that this looks like stealing to the onlooker? Okay, right. And have you thought that before? Why is Jesus telling them to go steal this donkey? Like, I don't understand it.

Well, that's one of the first thing I want you to see is that he's telling them to go take something from someone else. And if we were tracking, if we were told to do that, if you were pulling up to the grocery store and they said, hey, just run inside and get me some milk. And you said, okay, I'm going to run inside and get some milk. You would presume you're going to pay for it. And Jesus anticipates someone's going to ask them a question, like you went and grabbed that gallon of milk and you're heading toward the door, and you'd expect someone to say, sir, ma'am, did you pay for that?

If anyone says anything to you, just say to them, the Lord has need of it and carry on your way out the door. We go, that wouldn't work. Tony manages a store. He's like, no, my store, we wouldn't accept that as an answer. You wouldn't get your milk for free. And yet this is the conflict of this part of the text. Go into the city, give me a colt and bring it to me. If anyone questions you about it, just tell them I need it. Tell them the Lord has need of it. Now, if you were in their shoes, you'd say, this is stealing. You're telling me to steal. Would you tell your kids to go into the store and do this? Just run in there and get me a Snickers. And if they say anything to you, just tell them, it's for my daddy. And walk out the door. So how is it not stealing? What you want to say is, well, somehow some magic dust is sprinkled on the situation and somehow it's not stealing. No, it would be stealing if you were to take something that belonged to someone else.

That is stealing. In every situation, that's stealing. But Jesus tells them, when they ask you, this is what you're going to say to them. The Lord has need of it. Now, if I went into a store and I took something and the owner said to me, what are you doing? And I said, I'm taking it because the Lord has need of it. And he says, good, you can have it. I want the Lord to have it. It's no longer stealing, right? He's given his blessing to this thing being given. And that's what goes on with this owner. When the owner is told the Lord has need of it, he's content and he's satisfied for his coal to be used by the Lord. He gives it freely. You following me? You don't look like you're following me. You following me? Okay. We might be sitting here wondering, well, why would the owner do that? And I'd say, well, If the Lord needed something of yours, would you give it to him? Yeah, we would. And you wouldn't consider it having been stolen from you. The owner was glad to give it to the Lord. He was content with their reply. The Lord has need of it. I'm content. I want it to go to that end. Now, what kind of owner would be content with that answer? A rich one that has surplus? Maybe. A poor one who only has one colt? Maybe.

And you want to say, yeah, the rich one would be fine and the poor one wouldn't, but you don't know. Because their circumstances aren't what dictate whether they're okay with this or not. What dictates whether they're okay with this sort of thing or not is whether or not the Lord's been at work in them. There's this strange thing going on with these disciples. They're being told, go and get me that colt. And you have all kinds of questions in your mind. If you thought for a minute, you'd be like, the first question would be, isn't that stealing? Then you'd also think, How do you know there's going to be a colt there? Just like you're saying it is. A colt there with its mother who's never been ridden on before, which to us who don't know anything about animals, we're like, well, how do they know it's never been ridden on before? But to them who dealt with animals, they would have been able to recognize an animal that had been ridden on versus an animal that had never been ridden on. You go in there and you find this. As soon as you enter the city, it's going to be right there on your left. Aisle one, second shelf, halfway down. Right there. Go in there and get me it. Bring it here.

And so they go and they do it. How did Jesus know that that's where that stuff was, that the cult was going to be there? He's telling them with great detail what's going to happen in this event. You're going to go do this. And when the owner comes to you, this is what you're going to say to him. And implicitly, he's going to be okay with it. He's going to be happy. And so who would be content? What kind of owner would be content? Well, one that God's been at work in. That's it. That's the only kind of owner that would be content with this stuff going on. In Proverbs 21, verse 1, we read, And what this verse teaches us is that God is at work in the hearts of men, causing them to do things that don't make any sense to the natural man, to good sense and reason.

Under no circumstances does what this owner, this owner is in no way obligated to do what he does, which is say, take it. And if you think about it, you know, you think, is that a wise, prudent decision? The answer has to come back, no. You're giving away a great resource because some strangers came into town and told you the Lord needed it. It doesn't make any sense. And yet the Lord's been at work in this man's heart such that he's content with this answer. The Lord works in people, on people, and prepares them for what's coming in their lives such that they'll comply with his demands, his requirements when the time comes. This is true of us. This is true of other people. You know, if I was in the situation that these disciples found themselves in, I probably would have wanted some sort of confirmation, like, you mean you want me to go take it, just like that, without saying anything. That's what you want. I want, you know, yes, that's what I said the first time, and that's what I mean the second time, and yes, I would have wanted that. And you have in Scripture people doing this with the Lord. When he tells them to do something, they're like, are you sure? Gideon's a very good example of it.

Gather the armies together. He gathers armies together to go into battle. The Lord says, there's too many of them. Gideon's like, there's too many. Whittle them down. He says, okay, he whittles them down. Give the men a drink, see how they drink. And the army gets whittled down, whittled down, whittled down. 300 men. Very small army. And in this process, Gideon's like, are you sure this is what we're supposed to be doing? Could you give me a sign to tell me? And he sets out this thing. It says, Gideon said to God, this is Judges 6. 36 and following, he says, if you will deliver Israel through me as you've spoken, you know, you've told me you will do this. If you'll do it, then behold, I will put a fleece of wool out on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece only and it is dry on all the ground, then I will know that you will deliver Israel through me as you have spoken. So what he's saying to him is to confirm that you really mean what you said.

that you're going to take this little ragtag bunch of Israelite soldiers and you're going to whoop up on this army that completely outnumbers them. I'm going to lay out this fleece here and we're going to test this. I just want you to confirm for me that that's what you meant. I don't want to misunderstand. And it was so. He rose early the next morning, squeezed the fleece. He drained the dew from the fleece, a bowl full of water. Then Gideon said to God, do not let your anger burn against me that I may speak once more. Please let me make a test once more. with the fleece, let it now be dry on all the fleece, only on the fleece and let there be dew on the ground. And God did so that night for it was dry only on the fleece and the dew was on all the ground. And so Gideon wanted confirmation because he was going, this is crazy what you're telling me to do. And I want to do it. I'm living in this tension of like, I want to do what you're saying and I don't know how that's going to all work out. Will you confirm it? And he realizes that he's treading on thin ice with the Lord. Please don't let your anger burn against me, but let me speak one more time.

He's acknowledging his own weakness and his own lack of faith and pleading with the Lord, be merciful to me and just help me believe. Flip it. Make the fleece dry now and the ground wet. And then what does Gideon do after he gets the confirmation? The second time. He obeys. He takes his 300 men into battle. He actually does what he's told to do. Now, too often we ask for confirmation. And even when we have confirmation, we still don't do it. And so there's this spectrum going on here where you've got on the one end, the disciples that he sends into the village who don't ask for any confirmation or any proof for anything. I think it's in the parallel text in Matthew, it says they went immediately and did exactly what everything he said to do. And it's very clear that there was no more back and forth between them. He told them to do something, they went and did it.

And that's at one end of the spectrum. Then you move over a little bit and you've got Gideon type. I'm struggling. We believe. Lord, help my unbelief. Give me a sign. But then he does it. And then on the far end, you've got people who say, if you're the son of man, come down off that cross and we'll believe. And if he had come down off the cross, would they have believed? They wouldn't have believed. It didn't matter the sign. It didn't matter what the Lord said. They weren't going to do what they were told. And so the question to us is, where do we fall? Who are we? Are we the type that, like the disciples, just go and do what we're told without asking questions? Or are we the type who question and wonder and second guess and prove it to me and I need confirmation and I need more and I need more? Where are we at? Another way of asking the question is, do you ever get around to doing what the Lord says? Or do you think about it and wonder about it?

and rationalize about it or not. The command that he gave them was simple. Go into the village, bring me the colt. If anyone questions you, tell them I have need of it. Their response was that they went away. Those who were sent went away. They found it just as he had told them. Can you imagine if you were with them and you had done what they did? You went and you did what he said. And you'd held your tongue with your reservations and then you show up and you're like, it's... There it is. And you go over by faith. And it would take faith to walk over to some other man's property and start, I'm taking it. And now as you're taking it, the owners ask you what's going on. And you go, well, now it's all come to a head. The Lord has need of it. As you're walking with their animal away, it would have been amazing to see how the Lord worked in that situation. Just amazing.

To see the cult where it was said it was going to be, to see the owners respond the way they did, it would have been so encouraging and strengthening to have been a part of it, to have witnessed it. Wouldn't it have been? Later on in the text, it says that as they were entering into Jerusalem, the crowd of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the miracles which they had seen. And you can't discount the cult as being one of them. They had all just witnessed this. If you were in a big crowd of people and two of them were told, go get that thing, you'd be like, I don't know about all that. And then they come back and what would they do? They'd tell you, you'll never believe what happened. We went and did what Jesus said. And it was just like he said, that colt was right there and the owner was happy for us to have it so the Lord could use it. That sort of praise, that sort of worship is the result of their simple obedience, their quick obedience.

How much trouble and sin and heartache in our lives could be avoided if we would quickly do what the Lord requires of us? It's true of me. I like to think about it. I don't talk much about what goes on in my head. If you know me well, you know that's true of me. My wife could tell you. Dan could tell you. I don't talk a lot about what goes on behind the curtain in my head. But I think about stuff. I wonder about stuff. I debate about stuff. You run cost-benefit analysis. what's the cost and is it worth it and how will it all shake out if I do this or don't do that or the other thing, whatever, then I think you're like me. We all do it. And how much of the grief and trouble and scrambling and worrying and fear that we all deal with in our lives is a result of us simply not doing what we're told. Here's a simple example of this. You all have alarm clocks? Who has alarm clock? Everybody have alarm clock? Okay. Keep your hand up. If you do not,

get up and stay up the first time your alarm clock goes off. Okay, put your hands down. Raise your hand if you actually get up when your alarm clock goes off. Okay, so like a quarter of you do. That is great. Isaiah, good job. But the majority of you are like, no, snooze. Now, those of you who hit the snooze button, how does your day normally go? Which group were you in, John? You hit the snooze. Your day goes hectic. Why does it go hectic? You don't have enough time to get ready and so things get cut and you're scrambling. Your whole day is that way. And inevitably, you get less stuff done because that actual, that scramble and that chaos and that franticness actually is a distraction to you, right? Oh no, oh no, what am I gonna, I'm running late, you know, and you're, and then there's construction or whatever and you're just like, the whole day is like, you know. Now, I hit a snooze button. I'm one of those guys, okay? And whenever I set my alarm, the thing that goes through my mind is, what time am I gonna set my alarm for? And then what?

It's amazing. You all think my thoughts for me. It's just amazing. What time do I actually have to get up? And then I have this debate in my head. Do I sleep well for that 30 minutes of snooze? Is it good sleep? Is it not good sleep? Should I just set my alarm for the time I actually have to get up? And I say, no. No, I don't need to do that. All because I know that I'm not going to simply do what my alarm clock tells, what I've told my alarm clock to tell me to do. And I'll have you know that my alarm clock's not even in my bedroom. It's in my living room. I have to get up and walk across the house to turn my alarm clock off. And I will take my phone, which is my alarm clock, back into my bed and go back to sleep. That's how committed I am to not just getting up when I think I should get up. And I'm not the only one in this room who does silly things like that.

And then my day's hectic because I'm running late. Because in that half-sleep, not-sleep, I hit snooze one of the times I didn't remember I hit snooze, and all of a sudden I look at the clock, it's 10 minutes later than when I really had to get up. And now I'm actually late. And we're all smiling because you're just like me. You do it. Mike's smiling, Reese is smiling at least, so you know. Or maybe you just think I'm an idiot. For those of you who actually get up when your alarm clock tells you to get up, Is your day not a little bit calmer? It doesn't mean you're not busy. It doesn't mean you're not like having a lot to get done, but you actually just did it. You just got up. And as I'm walked out to my living room and I'm looking at my clock and I'm thinking, I'm almost awake. I'm like, I debate, can I just get up? I could just go get a drink of water. And if I make it all the way to the kitchen, I'm probably awake. Simple obedience saves so much trouble.

The alarm clock is just a silly example that we can all relate to. But when you simply do what's required of you, you don't have to deal with all of the trouble of not doing it. And there really is a lot of trouble of not doing it. These disciples just went and did what Jesus said. And it didn't make any sense to them. It would not have made sense to them, other than by faith. You're the Lord of heaven and earth, and you've told me to go into this city and to take a colt that will be tied up and to bring it to you. I believe you, and I'll do what you say. It's like Abraham taking Isaac. This doesn't make any sense. Go, take your son to the mountain that I'll show you, and there, sacrifice him, the one you've been waiting for for a hundred and some years. Doesn't make any sense, does it? Tell him to go kill his son. That's murder. Go kill your son.

Do you think Abraham would have done it? Yeah, I think he was going to do it because the scripture tells us that he believed he was going to receive his son back by resurrection. He was actually going to do it. And this is the way with God's people. And we want it to be the way with us. That we're quick to do what the Lord says and that we don't carve out this space in our mind that when it doesn't make sense to us or doesn't seem right, doesn't feel appropriate, that all of a sudden we go, well, I can't do that. I can only do what...

What seems right, feels right, isn't going to make me look weird or have people look at me strange or cost me anything. Could there have been a cost to these men going in and stealing a donkey? Mm-hmm. Yeah, it wouldn't have been, hey, give me my donkey back and get out of here. That would have been like the lowest tier consequence that they could have faced. I don't actually know what the law says about what the consequence is for stealing a man's donkey. But they could have faced consequences for what they were doing. And yet they trusted Jesus and they went and did what he said.

So what do you do with the weaknesses that you face? Whatever it is for you when you're having this struggle inside of you. Should I do it? Shouldn't I do it? I know I should do it. I'm afraid to do it. I know I should do it. I don't want to do it. How do you deal with that? What are you supposed to do? You're supposed to do it. You're supposed to discipline your weaknesses. When Jesus says to Peter, get behind me, Satan. That is the disposition that we ought to have toward our weaknesses. I am not going to give these things a foothold in the light of day. You say, but how? I'm actually afraid. And I say, I understand. You're not the first Christian to be afraid. Trust Jesus and do what he says. You sit and think about it and think about it and think about it and think about it, and it never comes out at the end that it finally makes sense and I'm at peace about doing it. That's hardly ever the response.

The more you think about it, the bigger the fears get, the more the anxieties get, the harder it gets to do because you've lost time. Simple obedience really is the way. Do it and do it now. Do it and do it now without asking questions. This is how we demonstrate our faith. There's no better way to deal with your weaknesses and your fears and your temptations to sin other than to not give them the light of day, to actually discipline them. How are you ever going to get up when your alarm clock goes off? It's just a little example. That time you have to get up, set your alarm clock for that time and then get up. Stop playing the game. You're not going to work your way. I'll go from five snoozes to four snoozes. You won't do it. If you're like me, you won't do it. Just set your alarm clock for when you got to get up and then get up. Expect that you're going to simply do what's required of you. And don't leave yourself any out. A man I respect once talked, you know, when he described

how men ought to work. He says, this is how they do it. They're supposed to back themselves into a corner and fight their way out. That's the description of a Christian man's life. That's what he should do. He shouldn't make all kinds of accommodations and caveats and timeouts and commercial breaks in his life, all these kinds of things. He should just load himself up with work, and then he should get to work. That's how he'll glorify God. Abraham was told to kill his son, and it's outrageous what he's told to do. These men were told, go and Take a donkey. And that's crazy. The things I'm talking about in your life that I want you simply to do are not crazy. Obedience is not, I'm not telling you to do something that has some sort of a plot twist in it that finally it all makes sense. What I'm saying to you is flee your sins. If you're tempted to sin sexually, run away from it. Literally, physically run away from it, just like Joseph did.

Don't sit and play with it. Don't sit and entertain it. Don't sit and even think about it. Just get away from it right now. Now, you're tempted to say something nasty, mean, bitter, harsh. Don't say a word. Not a word. Not a, well, maybe I can get my point across with nice words and a smile. No, shut up. You have, no. Say something kind that you mean that's true. Don't give it, don't give Satan an inch in your heart. It'll never end well for you. Hold your tongue. Discipline your lusts. And you'll find that you have, one, a lot more time, and you'll find peace. And you'll be amazed to see that God actually blesses and works in these things. You know, when you're frustrated with somebody and you got something, you gotta say to them. They're just mad, they've done wrong by you, and they're too stupid to realize it, so you just really need to lay it on and let them know. You guys get that way, I get that way. I think you just have to know what you've done. You know, there are times I hold my tongue, sometimes for years,

with that person. Doesn't mean that I'm perfect, but I manage to keep my thoughts in check. And you know what? It's really sweet to see God work and to see them grow without me having had to chew them up and be nasty to them. There are plenty of times where that's not the case, where I fail and I don't do what I'm telling you you should do. And so I'm not perfect and I don't expect you to be like, well, the pastor does it all right, because I don't. You can ask Vanessa, you can ask my kids, and they'll tell you. He's not perfect. He's not very good at what he's saying right now. But that's why I know it's a struggle. And I'm convinced that for my own part and in my own life, if I would simply do what I know is required of me in this situation, I know what the boundaries are, it would be better. And I would grow. And so I invite you to do the same thing. Simply do what's required of you without reservation.

You won't know how it's going to work out. These disciples didn't know how it was going to work out, but because they obeyed by faith, what they saw was God work. And there's nothing more glorious than seeing that. And so the application is very simple. Do what the Lord requires of you without delay. Sometimes that means doing things you're uncomfortable with. Sometimes it means not doing things that you really want to do or say. Obey the Lord without delay. The only way that this works, though, is to do it by faith. We have crickets, Luis. Well, I'd love it if you did at some point. The only way that you can do what I'm telling you is by faith. It doesn't make sense to you. You're not going to be able to reason your way through to this. Christians live by faith. We do what God says because he says to do it. And we don't need any further confirmation of it going well other than what he's already told us. Okay? I think the cricket, that's my amen cricket over there. Yeah, that's right.

So I'll end with this. There's an old, old guy, St. Augustine, and what he said to the Lord was, Oh Lord, command what you will, only grant what you command. Tell me to do whatever it is you want me to do. Just give me the ability to do it. That's all I ask. And that really has to be our prayer. Other than all of these back and forth wondering and I'm trying and I wonder how it's going to work out and I'm afraid and I'm angry and all the rest of it. Lord, command what you will, only grant what you command. Let's pray.