Show Notes
Have you ever reached a point where you thought, "If God really loved me, He wouldn't let this happen"? When prayers seem unanswered and the silence feels deafening, it's easy to start wondering whether He's still who you thought He was.
That's how John the Baptist felt. He'd prepared the way for Jesus, announced Him as the Messiah – and now he was sitting in prison, waiting to die. Nothing about this looked like victory.
So John sent his friends to ask Jesus, "Are you really the one we've been waiting for?" Jesus didn't condemn him for it. He simply pointed to the evidence – the blind seeing, the lame walking, the poor hearing good news – and then said:
Matthew 11:6 Great blessings belong to those who don't have a problem accepting me.
In other words: Blessed are those who don't turn away when I don't fit their expectations. John's story is a salutary reminder that God's goodness isn't proven by how well our life's going. It's proven by who He is – even when we don't understand what He's doing.
That's not an easy lesson to learn. It took me decades. All that time, I was offended by the challenging things Jesus had to say, and by those Christians whose lives looked a whole lot like they'd listened to Him.
Looking back, I just wish I'd dropped my attitude, listened to Him, and walked into His freedom sooner. So if you're perhaps standing in your own kind of prison – waiting, hurting, doubting – hold on.
Don't walk away just because He doesn't meet your expectations. Stay close because His plan is always bigger … and His blessing always worth it.
That's God's Word. Fresh … for you … today.
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