Look at last’s week title, “Who will roll the stone away?” All that the women wanted to do was to adorn the body of Jesus with spices. And for that they needed to enter the tomb. There was no answer to the question they raised amongst themselves; but they set out nevertheless with a vague kind of hope. Not faith, for obviously they did not believe anything Jesus had said about His rising again in three days.
Resurrection did not figure in the equation.
So, when confronted with a scenario completely outside the script, they hardly knew how to react.
What do we see in this instance?
Not an iota of faith. But what Jesus said came to pass. God was glorified.
Let us move to the wedding at Cana. Like we observed, apart from Jesus only Mary knew that something out of the ordinary would happen once Jesus was involved in the situation. She didn’t know the “whats and hows’.
But she had faith…… in Jesus.
In the end water was turned into wine, God was glorified (John2:11).
Take Shadrach, Meshak and Abednego. They simply refused to bow down to the image made by the king even though they well knew the punishment. Look at their words (Daniel 3):” 17 If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. 18 But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.”
The situation here is somewhat different. Faith is clearly discernible, but alongside you see an unwillingness to presume on the will of God. Why? God had not spoken promising deliverance. But the trio were confident that whatever the outcome, His name will be glorified. Though in this instance, the three were delivered, countless saints met their death in the stadia of Nero and in fact down the ages (Hebrews 11) with no rescue in sight. Did they exhibit faith? Yes, they did; just like Shadrach, Meshak and Abednego. But the plan of God for their lives and death, was different.
What is certain from these examples and others like the incident of Prophet Elijah Vs. 850 of Baal’s prophets on Mount Carmel, and the story of his stopping and invoking rain is that, when a certain result is in line with God’s purposes, He heeds the prayer of His people. Elijah knew that God would answer his prayer affirmatively.
On the other hand, Queen Esther and her maids also fasted and prayed, not knowing whether King Xerxes would extend the sceptre of favour or if she would be slain the next moment.
Let us look at a well-known tragedy of our times. You can be sure there were innumerable affirmations made in the name of God, several positive prophesies. Yet Joni Eareckson Tada remains quadriplegic to this day. But is the name of God magnified? You bet it is, through her life, ministry and her testimonies over five decades.
You cannot put God in a bottle like a genie and order Him around.
“Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him “(Ps.115:3) “He brings one down, he exalts another“. (Ps.75:7)
All the people on the earth seem like nothing to him. He does whatever he wants among the angels in heaven, and among the people on the earth too. Nobody can stop him. Nobody can ask him, ‘Why are you doing that?” (Daniel 4:35)
Isaiah 55:8-9 “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.”
1 Corinthians 2:16 For, “Who can know the Lord’s thoughts………?
Psalm 147:5 “Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite.”
So, let us not weary ourselves down trying to derive a functional formula or develop a fitting algorithm to manipulate God.
“The LORD is in His holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence before Him.” (Hab. 2:20)
Pray, Trust, Obey