By Pastor Beaudry November 3, 2023
The wait can seem long… so long that we wonder if God has forgotten us. But when we think it’s too late for our miracle, God surprises us with a solution that is more miraculous than we imagined!
After feeding five thousand people with only five barley loaves and two fish, Jesus sent His disciples across the Sea of Galilee. As they moved across the water, a violent storm arose. It was so violent that they thought they were going to drown.
Meanwhile, Jesus had gone up to a mountain to pray. (And no doubt, he was praying for His disciples.) Even though they couldn’t see him, Jesus could see them. And the Bible tells us that about 3 o’clock in the morning, He came to them on the water.
It was just before the sun rose, which meant they had been battling the storm for a long time. When Jesus approached them, the Bible indicates that He intended to pass by them. “He saw that they had great difficulty in rowing, because the wind was against them. “Seeing them straining at the oars—for the wind was against them—at about the fourth watch of the night, He came to them, walking on the sea; and He intended to pass by them” (Mark 6:48 NASB). But the disciples called Him, and He boarded their boat. Jesus appeared later than expected. But He came.
Sometimes when we pray for someone or something, we say, “Lord, it is dark. It’s getting late. You should do something now. Why don’t You do anything?” Or we might become discouraged and give up praying because we think God won’t do anything. But God has His timing as surely as He has His will. His time is perfect. The Bible says: “He has made everything appropriate in its time” (Ecclesiastes 3:11 NASB).
Maybe we have an illness and have prayed for God to heal us, but nothing has happened. Let’s not give up. Let’s continue to pray. Perhaps we pray for a prodigal son and wonder if that child will ever return. Let us not abandon prayer. Let us not stop having hope in God.
The Bible tells us the story of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, friends of Jesus. He spent time at their home in Bethany. But one day, Lazarus fell ill. Mary and Martha sent a message to Jesus, knowing He would do something. But Jesus did not rush to Bethany. He stayed where He was for two more days.
By the time Jesus arrived, Lazarus was not sick, he was dead. He had been in the tomb for four days. Martha was angry. “Martha then said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died” (John 11:21 NASB). In other words: “Jesus, you ruined everything. We boasted about You to all our friends.” Even Mary said the same thing. But then Jesus went to Lazarus’ tomb and raised him from the dead.
Mary and Martha wanted healing. But Jesus wanted a resurrection.
Ephesians 3:20 says, “Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us” (NASB). Sometimes the reason God doesn’t answer our prayers the way we want is because He wants to do more than we asked.
When we arrive at the end of ourselves, we arrive at the beginning of God.