"When
He, the Spirit of truth has come, He will guide you into all truth, for
He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will
speak; and He will tell you things to come" (John 16:13)
Dr.
Jowett, of more than a century ago, wrote of John 11:41 ("And
Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, 'Father,
I thank Thee that Thou has heard Me'"): "this
is a very strange and unusual order. Lazarus is still in the grave, and
the thanksgiving PRECEDES the miracle of resurrection. I thought that
the thanksgiving would have risen when the great deed had been wrought
and Lazarus was restored to life again. But Jesus gives thanks for what
He is ABOUT to receive. The gratitude breaks forth BEFORE the bounty
has arrived, in the assurance that it is certainly on the way. The song
of victory is sung BEFORE the battle has been fought... It is
thanksgiving before the miracle!"
Of
course, we tend to wait until the healing has HAPPENED, before we shout
"Hallelujah", give praise to the Lord, and thank Him. We often don't
understand or recognize that the real miracle is that God hears our
prayers in the first place. When He answers "No" or "Not yet" to our
insistent demands for "justice" in this life, healing to our bodies, or
continued relationship with some other person, we tend to decide He did
not hear us, or worse, that He does not care. But He does care and He
has ANSWERED you and me.
Rev.
Henry W. Ford was in China, when he "received
bad and sad news from home, and deep shadows covered my soul."
He continued, "I prayed, but the darkness did
not vanish. I summoned myself to endure, but the darkness only
deepened. Just then I went to an inland station and saw on the wall of
the mission home these words: 'Try Thanksgiving.' I did, and in a
moment every shadow was gone, not to return. Yes, the Psalmist was
right, 'It is a good thing to give
thanks unto the Lord’" (Psalm 92:1).
The key
to thanksgiving during the trial is “simple”. You may already know the
outcome, just as Jesus did when He thanked the Father BEFORE Lazarus was
raised from the dead. He knew what would happen because the Holy Spirit
had revealed it to Him. But often our fear, our resentment, our
UNBELIEF obscures the clear, gentle REVELATION of the Holy Spirit, who
is within each one that trusts in our Lord.
The
same Holy Spirit that was available to Jesus during His time on earth,
is touching you right now. When you are worried and fretting inside
because things are not the way you want them, try something different in
prayer - calmly bring the situation to Him IN THANKSGIVING. Simply lay
it all before Him, and see if you do not already know the outcome. Then
pray IN HIS WILL, and TRUST IN HIM, who will bring it to pass.
For
years, I longed to be used of God. "Everyone" knew that all you had to
do was "be available and God would use you". The lurking feeling
remained, "Is there something wrong with - me?" Why would He wait this
long to use me? All the time, He was gently and patiently preparing me,
giving Scriptures that became "my" verses, like, "I
will restore unto you the years the locust has eaten” (Joel
2:25). I trusted in Him, but it is so difficult for us to wait.
The
people of the Old Testament had many interesting and sometimes odd
experiences. There is a danger that we might think they’re somehow
unusual in the events that happened to them. You might decide that
Moses and Abraham were the only two that waited a long time before God's
promise was fulfilled in their lives. Was David typical, in that he
dramatically and horribly sinned, and then was forgiven? And is it the
norm that lingering effects continued from his sin, even though he was
forgiven by the grace of God? Was Hannah the only woman who waited
longer than she could bear in wanting a child, and then had that child
after prayer? What about Sarah and her wait? Was Joseph the only man
who went first into slavery and then to jail as the path toward
usefulness in service to God?
The
answer is: No, they weren't unusual - such experiences are common. If
you were able to counsel with people over a lifetime, you would find
many "Davids" and "Abrahams" and "Hannahs" in this world. Those in the
Bible were written about as examples, so you might recognize yourself in
them, and see how God works in relation to people like you. Men like
Peter and John are real people, but are also used as parables, so that
you and I might see ourselves and understand God’s purposes in our
lives.
Was Job
the only one who ever lost his children, health, reputation, money –
everything; and then was condemned by his "friends"? Emphatically not.
Good "friends" tend to be the first to accuse you, when your "ship" of
life heads for the rocks.
Job was surprised by everything that
happened to him, but often the Spirit of God will lessen the “surprise”
by preparing God’s people for things to come. That’s what it says in
John 16:13 - "When He, the Spirit of truth has
come, He will guide you into all truth, for He will not speak on His own
authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you
things to come", and this was not just for the disciples of
Jesus. This is also for you and me - right now.
Most of
the time we DON’T know what is to come, either because we do not hear,
or the Lord in His wisdom, chooses to not reveal it to us. Trust Him
and think on these:
-
“Do
not be anxious for tomorrow, for tomorrow will care for itself”
(Matthew 6:34)
- “Faith is to believe what we do
not see, and the reward of this faith is to see what we believe" (St.
Augustine)
- “Never be afraid to trust an
unknown future to a known God” (Corrie Ten Boom)
- “Even if I knew that tomorrow the
world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree” (Martin
Luther)
Father,
we trust in You today and forever, because of Your love. We may not
already see the victory in our lives but we see You, Jesus, and You have
saved us from our sins. Thank You that we can have faith in You. In
Jesus Name. Amen.
Ron Beckham, Pastor
Friday Study Ministries
www.fridaystudy.org
ron@fridaystudy.org
P.O. Box 92131
Long Beach, CA 90809-2131
"While
we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8)
