“Summoning two of his disciples, John sent them to the Lord, saying, ‘Are You the Expected One, or do we look for someone else?’” Luke 7:19
Have your circumstances ever caused you to question God? Mine have. The questions came pouring out faster than I could process them. Thoughts like, “Um, hello! Do You really know what You’re doing, God?” were floating around in my mind wrecking my peace and pressing me into a dark room locked by unbelief.
In the same way John the baptist must have felt abandoned and alone. I’m sure he wondered why he was sent to make way for the LORD and then immediately afterward was ushered “off stage” right into a prison cell. After all, John was obedient, doing the will of God by pointing people to the coming Messiah while baptizing them into repentance so they could see their need for a Savior. “Are You the expected One?” he asked, “Or should we look for someone else?” Jesus answered him with faith building evidence that screamed, “Jesus is Messiah!” In essence Jesus was reassuring John that He was who He said He was and who John knew Him to be. Jesus comforted John by telling him, “I AM still God, I still love you, I still care and I do have a plan that includes this trial.”
Likewise, Jesus reminds you and me that He is fully present, aware, loving, in control and all knowing. He is also all powerful and capable of changing any circumstance. Why, then, do we question God today? I question God when He doesn’t do what I want, therefore, mistakenly assume He must be wrong or not know what He’s doing. An example of this was never so apparent to me then when I begged God to soften the heart of our ten-year-old son eight years ago. God answered my prayer by allowing him to break his right femur during a football game. Broken both physically and spiritually, our son’s heart softened but it WAS NOT the way I would have done it. The LORD declares in Isaiah 55:8, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” Still, we are bent on getting our own way instead of trusting God’s love and sovereignty by surrendering to His will.
Surrender means “to give oneself up into the power of another”(www.merriam-webster.com). John went to the LORD and asked for reassurance with a surrendered spirit. Jesus answered and gave him hope. What peace and joy must have overflowed in the heart of the locust eating prophet as he trusted in the God of hope (Romans 15:13) instead of his circumstances. So often I drop my eyes and am overwhelmed by circumstances that I have no control over. This usually leads to confusion but the remedy is found in Psalm 121. He is The One! \O/
“I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth”
Psalm 121:1-2
havhope.com 