He must have known what He was doing

I am not really a movie person. Unless I'm watching with other people, I generally avoid watching any movies or TV shows. COVID has given our household (along with everyone else’s) a LOT of spare time. So we have been watching movies. Recently we watched “The Lion The Witch, and the Wardrobe”. Wow. Okay so first, I realized that I need to read that book series over again. Second, I forgot how much I loved that movie. And finally, I was hit by some pretty profound moments of the storyline.

So this past Easter, I was struggling to connect and dive deep into the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection. A combination of work-related stress, COVID related stress, and general mental health resulted in me really struggling and also becoming pretty frustrated with myself. I felt like there was something that God had for me. But I just couldn’t get there. Nearly three weeks later, this movie was my “Easter” deep dive. Better late than never (also yes this post is wayyy later than easter because it turns out that I always put off editing oopsss)

So if you know the story well, you know about the many parallels of Aslan vs. Jesus, Edmond vs. us, etc, etc. There is a ton of depth that you could go into just with those pieces. However, that was not the moment that struck me. 

There is this moment with Lucy and Susan as they weep over the dead body of Aslan where the line is said, “He must have known what he was doing.” CRAZY. They had just watched Aslan be beaten, mocked and killed for no good reason. They had every reason to think that they had it wrong the whole time. They had every reason to lose hope. 

It made me realize what it might have been like to watch Jesus die. There were many people who saw the process of Jesus being beaten, mocked, and killed. Many knew Him, had spoken with Him, and had grown a relationship with Him. They had watched Him lead with certainty and work miracles. Watching Jesus die must have been so confusing. Many had been following Him and knew the kind of leader He was. They were probably rationalizing in one of two ways: 

1. He was not who He said He was, or 

2. He must have known what He was doing. 

Now the knowledge of knowing and hoping that “He must have known what he was doing.”makes the pain of loss no less painful. In fact, it was a big leap of faith. It was where the rubber met the ground. Were you going to be a follower who had faith even when it seemed as though all hope was fading? Or would you be rational and think that you had simply judged Him wrong from the beginning? How many of us would choose today to be on the side of Jesus and look completely irrational to the world around us? No but really. 

Because as much as following Jesus looked irrational then, it looks just as irrational now. From my personal experience, if you aren’t making a few choices that cause the people around you to be a little confused, then you might not be following the Jesus I know and trust. The Jesus I know and trust comes and drops opportunities without us seeing it coming; He calls us into situations that can be hard and uncomfortable; He tells us to love people who are the most difficult to love; and He does not ever strive to just “make sensible choices”.

He does not promise a life that is safe and stable. He does promise to provide what we need (Matthew 7:7-11), to show up (John 14:21), to give fullness of life (Matthew 16:24-25), and to never leave us (Deuteronomy 31:6). His love for each of us is endless and that love does not go away when our life feels like it’s crumbling. In my experience, that is where His love can be experienced in fullness. 

I have experienced this in two different types of situations personally. The first is when you get stuck in a pit. Whether mental health, in grief, or in brokenness. Maybe it is the stark comparison between the darkness and His light… But I think it is because we finally stop trying to save ourselves and let our walls down. I think that it is the place we are finally willing to ask for help and let Him in. 

The second type of situation is one where you feel like God has led you right into the deep dark pit. This one feels particularly painful because you feel as though you have taken each step forward listening intently. You have been faithful and now you feel as though you look up and realize you are in the darkest cave you have ever been in and God is nowhere in sight. This is the space where the rubber hits the road once again. It’s like when Jesus is sleeping in the back of the boat and the disciples wake Him in a panic: “Where is your faith?”(Luke 8:25). Remember that even if it seems like Jesus is sleeping in the middle of your scary situation, He is still in your boat with you. “Take heart, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

So, are we truly willing to continue to stand firm and believe “He must have known what He was doing”? In the darkest moment, Susan dared to say those words. In our darkest moments, are we brave enough to say those words? Will we choose to speak those over our situations and choose faith over fear? In moments full of doubt, when we cannot see the way out, will we choose to look “irrational” and trust in who Jesus says He is?

The story goes on to tell of how Aslan did indeed know exactly what He was doing. Spoiler Alert: so does Jesus.