“And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.” (Isaiah 65:24)
Surprise, surprise – something else I love about my Jesus! He knows what I have need of before I even call out to Him and the answer is already on the way before I even know I have a need. What an awesome God we serve!
And yet, He will often wait until we cry out to Him in our distress before the answer manifests. That seems cruel, somehow, almost masochistic. Like He wants to see us squirm and suffer a little bit. That is how a carnal or baby Christian might see it, but I believe in my heart you are beyond that point of development. Why then does God wait? If He already knows our need and He already has the answer coming our way, why doesn’t He just intercede and cut down on the wait time? After all, even Amazon tells us when our package is due to arrive and gives us the opportunity to track it. A utility company may tell us they will be by to service our account sometime between 1 P.M. and 5 P.M. on a certain day. But God? He leaves it open.
We are reminded of the account where Jesus told His disciples to get into the boat and cross over the sea to Bethsaida (beginning in Mark 6:45) while He sent the crowds away. The Bible records that while Jesus was alone in the mountains praying He saw the disciples struggling against the storm and came to them walking on the water. There is an interesting phrase thrown in at the end of verse 48: “...and would have passed them by.” It wasn’t until they cried out to Him that He turned to them and entered the boat – and all was calm.
This is only one of many accounts where it seems God waits until we cry out to Him before He answers. So if God already knows what we need and if He already has the answer settled in heaven, why the wait? Does He enjoy watching His servants suffer? Certainly not! The answer, dear one, is in our confession of weakness, in our inability to do for ourselves what He wants so badly to do for us. The Bible tells us His eye “runs to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him.” He wants us to need Him, He wants us to recognize that without Him we are hopeless, we are helpless, we are as dead men and women walking. We rely upon Him for our very breath, for our next heartbeat, for our next meal, for our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual strength and health. All things come to us from our heavenly Father. We “know” that, but we often get so busy being busy that we just take care of things ourselves rather than wait upon Him.
This is a lesson I am being hard-pressed to learn right now. Recent events in my life have left me weak and feeling puny. Yes I have been healed – which has been verified (as if God needs verification) by medical specialists. But in my present healed condition my body is still weak from the traumas it has gone through. I literally find myself asking God for strength to stand and do dishes. I haven’t responded to emails and text messages because I am too weak mentally to have to explain myself to others. Sitting here at my keyboard my hands are trembling from the exertion it takes to type this message. Am I asking for sympathy? I am not! I am celebrating the victory God has given me these past few weeks and am glorying that He chooses to use me for His kingdom. Hallelujah! As did David of old, I must challenge my spirit to rise up in Christ, be bold, be strong in the strength of God’s Holy Spirit living within me. I am not sad. I am not defeated. As Paul wrote, “having done all to stand, stand therefore.” Stand I shall.
I don’t know what you are going through today. Our world is in turmoil, our nation is so divided right now, our communities are struggling with crime and poverty issues, and maybe you yourself are struggling with just getting by day-to-day. Whatever your situation, I encourage you to cry out to God. Just acknowledge Him. The disciples in the boat didn’t know it was Jesus until they established communication with Him. It was only when they cried out that He revealed Himself to them. When they knew it was Jesus, they realized that – with Him in the boat – everything was going to be alright. Cry out to God today. You may not see Him, you may not feel Him, you may think He is a million miles away and you are all alone. But, oh my friend, He promises to never forsake us nor leave us abandoned. We used to sing an old hymn in the church that had these words in it: “...if you’ll take one step toward the Savior, my friend, you’ll find His arms open wide. Believe Him and all of your darkness will end, within your heart He’ll abide. Time after time He has waited before, and now He is waiting again to see if you’re willing to open the door. What is your answer to Him?” Lift your eyes, dear one, to Jesus and allow Him to show Himself mighty on your behalf today.
Be blessed.
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