PrintI concluded my last entry in this log book with this: "….although Jesus' ability and power to deliver never abates, His willingness (or, to put it another way, His Will) is a variable".
I have no doubt that many of my brothers and sisters in Christ would want to take me to task over such a statement. Their theological posture would be that Jesus is always willing to deliver and heal. However, there are a few Biblical characters who would rise up to defend my statement by referring to their own experience of God's will as it worked out in their lives.
I call John the Baptist to the witness stand.
Here was a man who, according to Jesus, was the greatest man who had ever lived. (Matt. 11/11). His ministry of preparing the nation of Israel for the coming of the Messiah was superb. He was uncompromising as he called the nation to repentance. He was crystal-clear in identifying Jesus as that Messiah. His strength of conviction was passionate to a degree rarely (if ever) seen before.
But looking at life through prison bars can distort one's perspective. What was once very clear can become fuzzy. So it was with John. This man who once roamed the open spaces crying like a voice in the wilderness, "Behold, the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world. He is the One…." , now enquires from behind prison bars, "Are you really the Messiah we've been waiting for, or should we keep looking for someone else?" (Matt 11:3 NLT)
In the shadow of his death, John's mind was filled with uncertainty. What was once so clear was now disabled by doubts. Unable to go to Jesus himself, he sent messengers to ask the question that identified the true nature of his doubts, his uncertainty. "Are you the One or have I been wrong all this time?"
Jesus' response was meant to reassure John that He was indeed the One. Jesus appealed to the miraculous evidence but the one thing that His response did not contain was the assurance that deliverance from the prison was at hand. On the contrary, Jesus' response seemed to imply that deliverance was not part of God's agenda for John. 'And tell him: 'God blesses those who are not offended by me.' "(Matt 11:6 NLT)
Gene Edwards has written a small but excellent book called "The Prisoner in the Third Cell" which is based upon this episode in the life of John the Baptist. The thesis of the book might be summed up in the question, "Can you continue to follow a God Who does not live up to your expectations?"
If John harboured hopes and thoughts that God would show up and accomplish a spectacular deliverance, he was to be sorely disappointed. God showed up for those three prisoners of war, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego (Daniel 3). He showed up for the leper (Mark 1). He did not show up for John.
John is but one who serves as a reminder that emphatic claims that it is always God's will to save, heal and deliver maybe more an expression of presumption than faith.
This takes me back to where this journey began - with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. There is faith and balance in their response that we do well to emulate.
"Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, 'O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you.If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty.But even if he doesn't, Your Majesty can be sure that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.'" (Dan 3:16-18 NLT)
