TGIF
“Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?”And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see:the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them.And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.””
(Matthew 11:2–6 ESV)
“Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.”And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.””
(Matthew 26:38–39 ESV)
I want to address some of you today in as private a conversation as you can have in a blog post.
I want to speak to those of you who are suffering…and there appears to be no natural or supernatural answer for your suffering.
Your prayers have gone seemingly without answer.
You’ve endured, but your endurance is waning.
Your faith is wrestling with your doubt… and sometimes your doubt is winning.
I want you to know that you’re in good company.
John was in prison for proclaiming the kingdom of God, while God was still out proclaiming the kingdom.
My guess is that it seemed to John that God could change his situation…that He should change John’s situation.
When the situation didn’t change he began to question whether he’d put his faith in the right person.
He had…but he still lost his head.
I can see where he might take offense to that…
What Jesus was saying to John and his disciples was that the kingdom has come, but it won’t always look that way.
He was warning all of us ahead of time that He won’t always exercise His power to free us from the tribulations of a fallen world…and that we must follow Him anyway.
He loved John and He loves you…but sometimes, like John, we won’t be able to discern that from our circumstances.
We are to “take up our cross” and follow Him …
Lest you think it was easy for Jesus to expect such, I refer you to the Garden of Gethsemane.
That’s where Jesus asks the Father for Plan B…
Plan A was going to demand suffering and death.
There was no Plan B.
All of us are going to have a Plan A set before us at some point.
We will pray for Plan B-Z and expect that a loving God will deliver us from Plan A.
It may happen…but it may not.
What I want you to understand is that you’re in good company…that Jesus understands both your pain and your hope that your pain will be alleviated.
It’s really ok to ask the same questions that John did as long as you understand you may receive the same answers.
Your circumstances don’t reflect His heart for you…you are loved in the midst of them.
Getting home won’t be easy, but He’ll be waiting when you arrive.
You may arrive in tears, but He will take care of that too…
“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.””
(Revelation 21:4 ESV)
I look forward to that day and I look forward to meeting you (and Him) there…
Make your own application…
Michael
Nicely said… and true.
Thank you, Duane…
Amen. Beautifully said…. and, as Duane said, true.
The message of suffering ‘according to the will of God” and the attendant questions, is rarely mentioned from the pulpit or in small groups or private conversations. Thank you for bravely stating what many experience and think about, but are afraid to speak, lest be scorned.
Much love
I know you are suffering Michael, I’m so sorry! You re in my prayers big brother.
Thank you, Paige…much love to you as always!
Thank you, Dusty…much love to you as well, my sister.
“That’s where Jesus asks the Father for Plan B…
Plan A was going to demand suffering and death.
There was no Plan B”
Such truthful and disappointing words at the same time. How I wish there was a plan b. How I wish the Father’s will didn’t include that cross for Jesus and that prison and execution for John. But it also gives me hope that both Jesus and John were given enough grace to make it through. Suffering is our lot in this life. The cross and the prison. Michael, your suffering has made you a man of great compassion, one who empathizes with others who are down and suffering themselves. That may not be much comfort to you but it brings a lot of comfort to me when I hear your words of hope. Thank you.
Amen to all the above, Dr. Duane Paige, dusty Cash…. and i know more amens will follow tonight – we don’t have too many preachers these days willing to remind us of these things
But God is not capricious – “if it be possible” to find another way – it wasn’t – that ought to make us, like the old spiritual says, tremble
thank you for your post, michael.
All that you said, and in addition, consider it all joy.
James 1:2.
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
I think we are all going to suffer in this life, believer or not. I’m probably one of the younger commenters here at the PhxP (44) so I haven’t experienced the sufferings that many here have. As Cash pointed out, the words above from Jesus are a promise that He will give us grace to get through whatever is coming our way. He’s got us this far. I expect He will be with us every step of the rest of the way.
One of the blowbacks of experiencing God’s strength in great sorrow are the folk who’ll come along and accuse you being callous or worse… That’s when the Church has an opportunity to be a friend… Years ago God sent good and dear fellow Believers to run interference for me… It was some of my own family on the attack
I was in my 40s before i saw the ugly side of the self righteous Believers… well, except for the little church girls when i was 10 who asked me what i was doing at the church party and proceeded to tell me that i didn’t belong and that i should go home. One of them was the darling daughter of a radio preacher.
I wasn’t a church girl, but i wasn’t dumb. I went to the hostess and apologized for crashing the party as “Lucinda and JoJo” just told me that i wasn’t supposed to be there. 😈 i wasn’t dumb, but neither was i a Christian then LOL
The painting up top moves me to no end.
The very Creator of reality itself, of all worlds and of all powers seen and unseen, sorrowful unto death.
It makes my heart catch in my throat that He became human and that He cares for me personally.
This post is gold! Thank you, Michael. I know you not only are expounding the scriptures, but speaking from the depths of your own experience. May God give you His comfort and strength.
Making my own application takes no effort, in this case.
“He knows the way that I take, and when He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold” ~ Job 23:10.
Such beautiful comments throughout this thread. Blessings to each of you.
Michael, I would love to share this with my recovery ladies. The words “You’re not alone” can sometimes move mountains.
Thank you all for the kind words.
PH, if you think it helpful, it’s yours…
Yep. Good word.
Encouragement is always needed and appreciated, may you also be encouraged and enriched in faith. 🙂
Beautiful.
Especially as I lay here recooperating from a second surgery in 6 months and 4 days…
JTK,
Get well, my friend…
Praying for you, JTK.
Is that Tom Stipe?
Yep…we were on the same page…