Walking Through the Process

And it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities. ² Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, ³ and said unto him, “Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?” ⁴ Jesus answered and said unto them, “Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: ⁵ The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. ⁶ And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.” Matthew 11:1-6

This past Sunday morning, I heard such an amazing message from this text at our church. You know how you can read the same section of scripture several times, and then one time it really speaks to you in a new and different way? Well, that’s what happened Sunday morning. This is what was spoken about:  John had devoted his life to his ministry, forerunner of the Messiah, telling the world to “repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” In going back and reading Matthew 3, we find more about John the Baptist’s lifestyle and ministry, and we see his complete commitment to what he was called to do.

However, in Matthew 11:1-6, John the Baptist is in prison, and “the kingdom of heaven is at hand” wasn’t exactly the way that he had pictured it. This is why he asked if Jesus was the Messiah, or whether we should look for another. Jesus wanted John to know that miracles were being performed and that the gospel was being preached, and that John shouldn’t be offended because things had not turned out the way he expected. I was so convicted as I listened to this point because there have been MANY times that I have felt that way. Oh, I didn’t come out and say that I was offended at God because my life, or career, or ministry, or whatever, just didn’t go the way I had planned, it was more of an internal struggle. Thankfully, I wasn’t sitting in a prison, as John was, but maybe in a prison in my mind…a cage constructed by my flesh detailing the way my life should go.

     I may not have been as vocal about my lack of contentment or voiced anger and disappointment the way that others might, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t feel it. There have been times that I firmly believed that things were supposed to turn out differently than they did, and sometimes it was my own fault, my sin, my pride, my weakness, or just the fact that I wasn’t ready, that meant that MY plans didn’t work out. And then sometimes, it really just came down to that fact…that they were MY plans, not God’s.

     God knows the perfect timing for all things in our lives. He knows the trials that we will have to face, and He knows the mountains we will have to climb, as well as the storms we will have to weather. I think that I could say this in nearly every blog post…He does all things perfectly…this is just a fact. If we don’t get the job we were hoping for, if we don’t get that promotion, if we’re passed over for a raise, if the medical tests don’t return the hoped for results, it doesn’t mean that NO is the final answer. Many times it just means not yet. In all of the stages and seasons of our lives, we have much to learn and the opportunity to grow. This all comes through a process, it isn’t instantaneous. In looking back, I understand so many things now that I couldn’t begin to understand in the past. There were lessons I had to learn, there were strengths that I had to acquire through testing and trial, there was a time of refinement that I had to go through, and that I still am going through. I continue to go through the process in order to become all that God has made me to be. For instance, if I had gone down a different road nearly twenty years ago, the one I believed was right at that time, I know for a fact that I would have been a completely different person and would have had to face some very hard lessons in order to get me back where I needed to be. At the time it didn’t make sense, but looking back I am able to see God’s wisdom in moving me towards a different path.

                I’m so thankful for the Word that the preacher brought to us on Sunday because it showed me that in these past times when I felt like the biggest failure or a huge disappointment, that wasn’t the case; I just wasn’t seeing the bigger picture. God has a perfect plan and design for my life, and it may not fit the pattern I always had for myself, but it fits the pattern He has for me – and He always has the very best in store for us…always.