There was a great multitude in that place; perhaps, thousands. Yet, only that certain man was healed. Why only him? Why not everyone?
Why did he get healed, and my prayers went unanswered? My child died.
The marriage failed. My loved one didn’t get better. I just got sicker.
Tough questions.
Jesus isn’t afraid of tough questions. He invites us to ask them.
We know, that we don’t know much.
1 Cor. 13:9-12 says we see in part and know in part. Some things, many
things, will remain a mystery this side of heaven.
However, we know for sure and certain the following:
God is good. Psalm 34:8, 100:5.
God is love. 1 John 4:8.
God is sovereign. Genesis 1:1; Jeremiah 32:17.
We also know,
His thoughts are higher than our thoughts, His ways higher than our ways.
Isaiah 55:8-9.
God is good,
God is love, God is sovereign. Therefore, with that
understanding, we can dismiss any thought that God dropped the ball or failed
to deliver. That is not an option to consider. Ever. Period.
Romans 9:15
and Exodus 33:19 tell us that God shows mercy on whom He will show mercy.
If you’re feeling
a bit humbled at the moment, that’s good. That’s the perfect position to hear
from God.
When it
comes to questions about why some get healed and others don’t, people say stuff like: “Everything happens for a
reason”. As if, that tragedy was
God’s idea, His plan. Or, when a baby dies, they say something like, “I guess God just needed another angel”.
Those words may be well intentioned, but they’re a well of hurt, and untrue.
Don’t say them.
Maybe our priorities need to be adjusted.
What if the big lesson isn’t about the man being healed, or about us, (or the multitude of others) not being healed, but about the Healer, seeking, hearing, following His Father’s leading?
Like a Shepherd leaving the ninety-nine to
find that one lost sheep.
Okay, but the harvest is plentiful, the laborers are few. Luke 10:2. Jesus had the ability to heal everyone by the pool that day; but didn’t. He has the ability to heal so many today, but doesn't. So, the question remains, why did He heal just the one, and not the others?
You may have the ability to buy every treat and toy the child asks for;
but don’t.
The reasons He didn’t and you don’t, are similar. Let’s look at seven,
starting with the most obvious.
1. Not healthy.
He looks up at you, lifts
the little bag over his little head and gives the cutest smile; “Candy, please?”
You smile, look at the bag full of cute little round white balls…moth balls. “No, you can’t have that. Your explanation goes unheard. He thinks you’re mean.
Or
what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a
stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being
evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your
Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! Matthew 7:9-11.
2. Not ready, yet.
This may be due to maturity or circumstance. Time: Kairos, or, Chrónos (Kairos = God’s clock. Chrónos = man’s).
Yes, you can have dad’s truck. But not yet—you’re only seven.
It may be right, but you’re not
ready (Chrónos ). Or, you may be ready, but it’s not the right time (Kairos). Jesus tells us in
John 16:12, “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear
them now.”
3. Bad behavior (outward).
Prayers and healings are hindered by bad behavior.
God is not an enabler of bad behavior. He will never assist our sin.
We’re wise not to bail someone out if it only enables bad behavior.
After healing this man at the Pool of Bethesda, Jesus says, “Go and sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you.”
4.
Bad heart
(inward).
The outside may look great—but God sees the thoughts and intents of the heart. Jesus rebuked the scribes and Pharisees who looked good outwardly, but were filthy inside. Matthew 23:25-28.
We’re told in James 4:2-3 that we
ask and receive not, because we ask amiss, that we may consume it upon our
lusts.
5. Little faith.
I don’t know why, but this is the one that causes some folks to get
their feathers all in a ruffle.
Nevertheless, we can’t ignore the words of Jesus. Repeatedly He told folks
that their faith had made them whole. That all things are possible to those who
believe. Luke 7:50, Luke 8:48, Luke 17:19, Luke 18:42, Mark 9:23.
He also told the disciples their prayer wasn’t answered due to their
little faith. Matthew 17:20.
We’re told He didn’t do many mighty works in Nazareth, due to their
unbelief. Matthew 13:58.
That can’t be ignored.
When Jesus speaks of, faith, He’s talking about relationship.
Weak faith, or little faith, is equivalent to a weak relationship.
Romans 10:17 tells us, faith comes by hearing the word (rhéma)
of Christ. Rhéma means the spoken, word.
Relationships are developed by communication. Speak often with someone
and a relationship develops. This is the seedbed for wedding bells and lifelong
friendships.
You finish each other’s sentence. They already know what you’re thinking.
That’s what Jesus is talking about.
Rox didn’t like our chandelier. She thought it was old and ugly (I
thought it was a classic).
Rose replaced her chandelier. Rox said she liked it. Rose brought it
over.
It was sitting on the floor by our front door.
I knew what that meant. I took a picture of both and texted them to my
friend, Greg. I wrote: “Rox says if she waits on me, it’ll still be sitting there this
time next year."
I could’ve texted that to a thousand people and would’ve received a
response like, “LOL.” Or, no response at all.
But Greg showed up the next day and replaced the chandelier.
Not for money. Not for hire. But because we’re friends (and maybe
because we’re neighbors and he knew if I tried to do it, I might burn the house
down, and catch his on fire, too).
He knew what I was asking without even saying. I had faith that he'd come through (and maybe even keep me from being in the dog house until this time next year).
God longs for an intimate relationship with you, built on the personal rhéma, that births mountain moving faith.
No one wants a relationship with someone who only calls or texts when they want something. Those calls and texts may receive a response like, “LOL.” Or, no response at all.
6. Spiritual warfare (broken world).
Ever since Eden, the world’s been broken.
Much of God’s will is not done on this planet due to sin. satan steals,
kills, destroys. None of which is God’s will.
It was not God’s will for the first folks on the planet to break the
only rule on the planet. God certainly didn’t want the first person ever born
on the planet to murder the second. It’s not His will that any perish…but alas,
many will.
Jesus said to pray, “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done”. If God’s
will, was always done, there would be no need to ask for His will to be done.
We are in a battle. Daniel’s answer to prayer was delayed twenty-one
days, due to spiritual warfare. Daniel 10:12-13.
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Ephesians 6:12
7. Not in His Divine Eternal Purpose.
Finally, the one we’ve been waiting for. The one that most
appropriately applies to Jesus at the Pool of Bethesda. He was Divinely guided by
His Father to pass by many, perhaps thousands, in need of healing, to get to one
certain man.
This Divine Guidance wasn’t new or specific to the New Testament or to
Jesus alone.
Elijah was sent to one.
Elisha was sent to one.
Luke 4:25-27 …there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and great famine swept over all the land. Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to the widow of Zarephath in Sidon. And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet. Yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian
His
Passion & Mission is Driven by Divine Eternal Purpose
not pulled by enormity or urgency of need
Before this chapter is through, Jesus will say that He only does what
He sees the Father do (John 5:19); and, of Himself, He can do nothing (John 5:30). Before the book of John is through
Jesus will repeat over and over the theme that He only says and does as directed by His Father. John 6:38-40, John 7:16, John 8:26, John 8:28, John 12:49-50.
In His prayer that points specifically to us, here and now, He
says to His Father, “As You sent Me into the world, I have also sent them…”
John 17:20.
As He was laser focused on following His Father, so too, must we.
It’s
not overwhelming, it’s freeing. All we must do, is follow Him. Our ongoing,
continual prayer must be, “Not my will, but Thine. Tell me what to say. Show me
what to do. I will follow You. Forever."
Dear friends, please listen, it’s not your job, to meet every single need that comes your way. It's your job to follow your Father. That's what Jesus did. That's why He went to one, and passed another.
It'll be difficult to say yes to one and no to another. But for your life and your prayers to be powerful and effective, you must continually, intentionally, focus on the Father, so you're sensitive to, and driven by, God’s Divine internal and eternal purpose, specific to your life.
I pray, He give you discernment.
God has specific arenas for you to reach certain people and meet
select needs. He will provide the means, the power and grace to fulfill His
will. In these areas, nothing will be impossible.
However, if you go outside your harvest field, you'll flounder like a fish
trying to fly.
Jesus was able to stay the course of His calling, by not allowing temporary
needs, to skew the view of His Divine Eternal Purpose.
To see His will fulfilled in our lives, we must follow His example.
Please pin the following words on the mirror and screen saver of your
heart and mind:
My
Passion & Mission is Driven by Divine Eternal Purpose
not pulled by enormity or urgency of need
Let’s pray
Heavenly Father, not my will, but
Thine. Forever. Amen.
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