“In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice;
in the morning I lay my requests before you
and wait in expectation.”
(Psalm 5:3, NIV)
Waiting can be one of the hardest things we do. Waiting means God’s timing; you may be walking in some prolonged seasons of delay. As I’ve heard a few times from other Christian writers and speakers, delayed does not mean denied. This made me think of the story in the Bible of the man that was healed at the Pool of Bethesda. The disabled would come to this pool because it was known that an angel would come and stir the pool at appointed seasons. The first one to enter the water after it had been stirred would be healed of their disease. Sounds like a group of people waiting on a miracle, right? At least they were in the right place and hoped to be there at the right time too for when the season of healing would take place specifically for them. But this one man in particular had been an invalid for 38 years! Not only had his physical healing been delayed after all of that time, but also he had experienced prolonged disappointment, repeatedly looking to God in expectation.
Jesus asked him his most important question: “Do you want to get well?”(John 5:6, NIV).
We know he waited in expectation because after 38 years, he was still there waiting and hoping for his miracle. He ended up being at the right place and the right time after all, though it was a longer wait than he probably anticipated. His waiting probably made him feel more like a spectator instead of the recipient that he was hoping to be. These questions come to mind when I think of his situation prior to him receiving his miracle:
-Did he believe the miracle for himself anymore?
-Had he gotten comfortable with the fact that the Pool of Bethesda had become a place of “hang out” for him rather than a place of miracles?
-Had he settled, becoming just an observer while watching others receive their miracles?
Have you, too, ever felt like this about your miracle? Are you still believing for your miracle? Has church become an ordinary place where you no longer wait in expectation for God to perform His wonders? Are you merely just a witness of others’ miracles where you no longer believe God will move on your behalf?
Hard trials, unmoved circumstances, and dysfunction can start to feel like the new norm. We get so use to the heartache, the long journey of unanswered prayer, that we take shelter in the cave of our problems. We get stuck because we’ve been there so long, we don’t know anything else. We can become so comfortable with how things have been that it becomes a part of us, and we don’t realize it sometimes until we finally step out of the cave.
What question do you think God might be posing to you today, specifically to you right now about receiving your miracle?
Do you want to get well?
Do you want to be free?
Do you want to step out of the cave of your problems?
Do you want to ___________________? (You fill in the blank.)
Hold on, dear child of God. Keep watch, and wait for Him. He has not forgotten you. He has not forsaken you. Listen to His love letter to us who still hope and are waiting…
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13, NIV).
“The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged” (Deuteronomy 31:8, NIV).
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6, NIV).
“Be still, and know that I am God…” (Psalm 46:10a, NIV).
“Not one of all the Lord’s good promises to Israel failed; every one was fulfilled” (Joshua 21:45, NIV).
Photo by Amanda Bridges-Dunn