As we continue through the book of John, like Pastor Manny shared, I am appreciating these one-on-one conversations that Jesus is having with everyday people. Each person He encounters has a deeper story, and each person is challenged to believe or not to believe.
This week as I listened to the message, I was paying special attention to that journey home that this official had to take. A long two day journey. Many miles of walking. Wondering, waiting, hoping and believing.
I thought about how much of our life is spent in this part — in the “waiting”. Yes, we have those mountaintop moments where we receive an answer to prayer, healing, or deliverance. There is suddenly restoration of a relationship, or salvation of a loved one long-awaited. But most of our life is spent in the waiting, in the prayers, in the crying out to God for Him to come through. We wait in the quiet belief that He truly is “doing a new thing” (Isaiah 43:19).
I recently heard a podcast with Annie F. Downs of someone who had been through a long battle. Specifics weren’t shared but they said that all God had told them was to “wait.” And in that waiting, she wrestled with pushing and pulling against God. Running a few steps ahead of Him, or dragging a few steps behind. Never truly being “in step” with Him as she waited. I could relate to this, because as I wait for long-standing prayers, I often feel the need to micromanage along the way. “Well certainly there is something I could be doing during this, God?! Where do I go? What can I do?!”
But then I think about this helpless father. There was nothing he could do for his son. Only Jesus had the power to save here. And in our waiting, I think deep down we know the same. We are helpless to change anything, but we know the One who can change it all in one instant.
I love that this helpless father chose to believe. He chose to trust Jesus at His word. I wonder how many times our anxieties that plague our mind come down to that one thing: Do we trust His word? Do we truly trust Him?
Chances are, as you read this, you are on your own long road of waiting. Your heart has hoped and believed, but maybe you have also doubted that He will come through, or wondered if He even hears you. As we wait and journey and continue on, I believe the more we are “in step” and the more we “abide,” the easier our journey will be. The waiting could actually become a weightless experience where we finally learn to trust. And when the time comes for Him to answer — whether that be a yes, or a no, we can trust that He is still good, because we learned His character along the way.
In that Annie Downs interview I listened to, she described waiting as not running ahead of God or behind Him, but just releasing and “floating” like floating down a river in a raft. The current is moving, as God is always moving, and we finally surrender to that movement. We float as if to say, “You are in control, and I will trust you in the waiting. I trust you with the journey ahead.”
This week as I listened to the message, I was paying special attention to that journey home that this official had to take. A long two day journey. Many miles of walking. Wondering, waiting, hoping and believing.
I thought about how much of our life is spent in this part — in the “waiting”. Yes, we have those mountaintop moments where we receive an answer to prayer, healing, or deliverance. There is suddenly restoration of a relationship, or salvation of a loved one long-awaited. But most of our life is spent in the waiting, in the prayers, in the crying out to God for Him to come through. We wait in the quiet belief that He truly is “doing a new thing” (Isaiah 43:19).
I recently heard a podcast with Annie F. Downs of someone who had been through a long battle. Specifics weren’t shared but they said that all God had told them was to “wait.” And in that waiting, she wrestled with pushing and pulling against God. Running a few steps ahead of Him, or dragging a few steps behind. Never truly being “in step” with Him as she waited. I could relate to this, because as I wait for long-standing prayers, I often feel the need to micromanage along the way. “Well certainly there is something I could be doing during this, God?! Where do I go? What can I do?!”
But then I think about this helpless father. There was nothing he could do for his son. Only Jesus had the power to save here. And in our waiting, I think deep down we know the same. We are helpless to change anything, but we know the One who can change it all in one instant.
I love that this helpless father chose to believe. He chose to trust Jesus at His word. I wonder how many times our anxieties that plague our mind come down to that one thing: Do we trust His word? Do we truly trust Him?
Chances are, as you read this, you are on your own long road of waiting. Your heart has hoped and believed, but maybe you have also doubted that He will come through, or wondered if He even hears you. As we wait and journey and continue on, I believe the more we are “in step” and the more we “abide,” the easier our journey will be. The waiting could actually become a weightless experience where we finally learn to trust. And when the time comes for Him to answer — whether that be a yes, or a no, we can trust that He is still good, because we learned His character along the way.
In that Annie Downs interview I listened to, she described waiting as not running ahead of God or behind Him, but just releasing and “floating” like floating down a river in a raft. The current is moving, as God is always moving, and we finally surrender to that movement. We float as if to say, “You are in control, and I will trust you in the waiting. I trust you with the journey ahead.”
Erika Pizzo
Erika is an author of various books on the topics of faith, mental health, and victory in Christ. Erika lives with her husband, daughter, son, and their fluffy poodle in sunny Southern California. Her two favorite things are a visit to the beach and a chai latte in hand.