Sometimes my faith is shaken when my dreams are shattered.
I wonder where God is in the midst of my suffering. I cannot sense his presence. I feel alone and afraid. My faith wavers.
I question what I have long believed. I wonder what is real, especially when my experience doesn’t match my expectations.
This wavering deeply troubles me. I have tasted God’s goodness,
enjoyed close fellowship with him, rested in his tender care. I have
known both his power and his love. Yet in the midst of profound
struggle, I have no answers. Just questions.
John the Baptist understood this as he waited in prison. He, above
all men, knew who Jesus was. Even in the womb, he leapt for joy in the
presence of the unborn savior. At the beginning of Jesus’s ministry,
before any of his miracles, John declared, “Behold the Lamb of God who
takes away the sin of the world.” He baptized Jesus and saw God’s Spirit
descend on him, testifying that he indeed was the Son of God.
And yet, at the height of Jesus’s ministry, John sent word to him
from prison, asking, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look
for another?”
At one point, John was sure that Jesus was the Messiah. Jesus further
confirmed his divinity by performing miracles, yet now John was
wondering what was true.
Why?
Unfulfilled Expectations
John knew from Scripture that he who gave the blind sight, made the
lame walk, and preached good news to the poor could surely “open the
prison of those who were bound” as prophesied in Isaiah 61. But Jesus didn’t do that for John.
So perhaps at this point, John doubted what he knew. If Jesus was
indeed the Messiah, John probably expected to have a role in his earthly
kingdom. He wouldn’t have expected to start with such a high calling,
preparing the way of the Lord in the wilderness, only to end his life
and his ministry in a small prison cell. Besides, John preached that the
Messiah would come with an unquenchable fire. With judgment. With
power. He likely expected that to be in his lifetime.
None of those expectations coincided with reality. And that may have
caused John to doubt. Unfulfilled expectations often elicit that
response in me. Especially when I’ve been faithful.
Jesus doesn’t condemn John for his doubts. He even says that no one
greater than John has ever lived. He understands why John is asking the
question. And Jesus’s response to him reinforces what John already knows
— that Jesus is indeed the Messiah.
At the same time, Jesus knows that John’s public ministry is over. Just like the saints in Hebrews 11,
John wouldn’t receive all God’s promises but could only greet them from
afar. He would not serve with Jesus or see the fulfillment of God’s
kingdom. But one day he would. One day he would see his glorious part in
God’s magnificent plan. He, the last of the old-covenant prophets,
would see how God used him to prepare the world to receive Jesus.
And John would rejoice.
But for now, John has to accept the Messiah’s plans for his life.
Plans that are different than what he envisioned. He has to dwell on
what he knows to be true rather than fixate on his circumstances. He has
to remember who God is and trust him from a dark prison.
And so it is with me.
When Your Plans Crumble
When my plans crumble and God takes me away from my dreams, I must
trust in God’s infinite wisdom. When my cup of suffering seems too much
to bear, I need to rest in his immeasurable love. When my life spins out
of control, I need to remember God’s absolute sovereignty.
I may not understand what is happening. But I cannot stop talking to
him. Or turn away in fear. I must simply go to Jesus and tell him my
doubts. Ask him to help me see.
John’s doubts are the same as mine. I wonder if God is who he says he
is. And if everything is under his control. And if he truly loves me.
And when I doubt, God calls me, as he did John, to trust what I know
to be true. To trust the bedrock principles that I know from Scripture
and from experience. That God is completely sovereign. And loving. And
wise. Not a sparrow falls to the ground apart from his will.
In this life, I may never see how God is using my trials. But one day
I will be grateful for them. All I can do now is trust that he who made
the lame walk and the blind see, who died on a cross so I could spend
eternity with him, is going to do the very best thing for me.
It all comes down to trust. Will I trust my circumstances that constantly change? Or will I trust God who is unchanging?
On Christ the solid rock I stand. All other ground is sinking sand.
Written By: Vaneetha Rendall
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