“For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him.” – II Chronicles 16:9a
“Then Jesus answering said unto them, Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached. And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.” – Luke 7:22-23
“Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.” – Hebrews 13:5-6
Scripture Reading: Luke 7:11-23
I don’t know why I still struggle. Time and time again, I have seen the proof that God is in control, that His plan and His timing are perfect, and that He never has or will need my help. And yet, my mind is forever working overtime, assuming what should happen next, growing impatient, and wondering why God isn’t moving when I think He should.
In Luke 7, John the Baptist is in prison, and his mind is working overtime. His disciples come to him with stories of miracles – the blind, the lame, lepers, the deaf, and even the dead are benefitting from the ministry of Jesus. Miracles seem to be taking place everywhere, but not in John’s prison cell. Left to the mercy of his enemies, this forerunner of the Messiah, the voice crying in the wilderness, the greatest prophet who ever lived (Luke 3:4-6, 7:26-28), and yes, the cousin of Jesus, has got to be wondering where his miracle is.
And so, in Verse 20, John sends an audacious, what-have-I-got-to-lose kind of question to Jesus, “Art thou he that should come? or look we for another?” His words seem to smack with impatience and assumption. Where are you, Jesus? Where’s my miracle? What about me?
Verse 21 tells us that “in that same hour”, Jesus performed another slew of miracles, and though none of them opened John’s prison cell, I believe they were meant to open his eyes to the greater purpose of God. In Verse 23, Jesus speaks directly to John and to anyone who doubts His perfect plan, “Blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.”
It’s as if He’s telling John, “You can’t take this personally. I know you want to get out of prison, but there are bigger things that need to be accomplished. It doesn’t mean I don’t love you, or I’ve forgotten about you. You just have to trust me.”
We live with the mindset that “actions speak louder than words”. And while that may be true in human interactions, it’s a human standard that our stubborn and finite minds cannot accurately apply to a sovereign God (Psalm 119:160, Hebrews 11:6). We think we know how things should play out in a certain situation, and God seems to be lagging behind. But the only truth we know for certain is the character of our sovereign and loving God, and no matter what is or is not changing in your situation, that Character never changes (Exodus 3:14, Psalm 136, Hebrews 13:8, Revelation 1:8, 3:14, 19:11).
God is able to do anything, but He uses His power when and where He chooses, and we have to be okay with that. We can’t take it personally. I can’t tell you what the plan is, but I can unequivocally tell you Who He Is. Maybe that’s why He refers to Himself as I AM – because the most valuable promise of all eternity is God’s own unchanging character – the love that endures forever and the morning-by-morning faithfulness of our God (Lamentations 3:22-23, Malachi 3:6, Isaiah 43:25, 60:16).
Somewhere in your heart, you have to reconcile the love and the lag in your Father’s actions. When God’s plan seems to fall out of step, you might wonder on some level if He is still in control, still engaged in the things that concern you, still FOR you. Push those questions away. They are natural and they are normal, but if you entertain them for an extended period of time, they will rob you of blessings and blind you to His true working in your life.
No matter what miracles we do or do not receive, never forget that we live in the eternal miracle that Almighty God has chosen to love us as we are, to redeem us as we could not redeem ourselves, and to claim us as His own for eternity. And at the end of the day, and even the end of life, that is all the miracle we truly need (John 11:25-26, 14:6, Revelation 1:8).
YOUR PRESCRIPTION
Have you found yourself wondering where God is? Have you questioned His love because you question His methods? Tell Him you trust Him, and ask Him for His perfect peace in your situation.
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