Savage2Saint Sobriety March 31, 2026

Jesus was in the center of the procession, and the people all around him were shouting, “Praise God for the Son of David! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Praise God in highest heaven!” - Matthew 21:9 (NLT).

A lot can change in a short time. Take Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem for example. In just a few short days, the crowds went from cheering His praises to calling for Him to be crucified. As painful as it is to think about, it was necessary. After all, it was prophesied centuries before it actually took place. I still have to wonder: how could the people who were praising Him turn on a dime like that? Why did they have such a drastic change of heart? It's because Jesus didn't do what they thought He was going to do. He didn't live up to their expectations. The scene in the days after His entry didn't play out the way they thought it should have.

Jesus was supposed to establish His Kingdom. According to the prophets, He was going to take out the oppressive regime that had been using and abusing the Jewish people for years. The Jewish people weren't cheering Jesus for who He was, they were cheering Him for what they thought He was going to do for them. It was a self-serving kind of praise, not genuine love or appreciation. When Jesus' first order of business was to go to the temple, overturn tables, and clean out everything and everyone who didn't belong in the house of God, the people started having a change of heart. They stopped singing His praises.

Even though this happened 2,000 years ago, God's children are still doing this to Him today. How? We usher Jesus into our lives with praise and worship, but the moment things don't go the way we think they should we lose a little faith. When Jesus starts turning over parts of our lives and throwing out the people we don't need, we stop singing His praises. We get an expectation in our minds of how we think it should be, but when God chooses a different means and method to get the job done, we suddenly aren't sure about Him anymore. We may not have yelled, 'Crucify Him,' but we're letting Him die a slow death in our hearts.

Jesus had a plan when He rode into Jerusalem that day. The people wanted peace and freedom and that's exactly what Jesus gave them through His death. They just couldn't see what Jesus could see. Change can be uncomfortable and it sometimes hurts a little, but instead of getting upset when life doesn't go the way we think it should, let's stop and thank God for always having a plan and for seeing the things we can't see yet. He's ten moves ahead and the uncomfortable thing you're going through may be Him making the necessary changes in your life that will have an eternal impact on your future. Praise Him for what He's already done because He is worthy to be praised! God Bless!