Not Yet the Hour

“The LORD is close to the brokenhearted;
and those who are crushed in spirit he saves.
Many are the troubles of the just man,
but out of them all the LORD delivers him.”

Psalm 34:19-20

How true is it that the good suffer while the evil seemingly thrive and succeed. Perhaps we have seen this in the world around us or maybe even in our own personal lives. But the Lord reminds us that He is close to the brokenhearted and that although the just man has many troubles, from them all the Lord will deliver him. The Lord will, but perhaps not now because it may not yet be the hour.

It may be difficult to handle and endure when suffering comes our way. There may be a tremendous feeling of injustice especially when we are wronged and accused of something we may not have done. Or maybe our good intentions were twisted into something perverted or evil. We can never fully understand another person’s heart, for only God knows. But we must remember that the Lord is close to us. He is close to the brokenhearted and He will not allow us to go down in defeat. To the world, Jesus seemed to have lost the battle He was fighting. But little did they know that life would forever be changed. Life will no longer end in death, but rather in a life that will never end. Suffering, if united to Christ’s, will always bring about good fruit.

Brothers and sisters, if you are this moment suffering know that you are not alone. Remember that the Lord too suffered immensely, unjustly, but willingly. He endured the suffering because He knew that the Father will not let the suffering be in vain. He knew that the Father had a much bigger plan. So too is the same for us. We may need to continue to suffer for a while, for it might not yet be the hour from which we will be delivered from our sufferings and troubles. While we endure, we must offer it up, asking the Lord to grant us the wisdom to learn from it and also praying for those who may be inflicting this pain upon us. Have faith that the Lord is trustworthy, derive hope from His suffering, and know that His love prevails.

Steadfast Love

“Can a mother forget her infant,
be without tenderness for the child of her womb?
Even should she forget,
I will never forget you.”

Isaiah 49:15

Have you ever felt all alone or maybe as if no one understands you, not even your closest friend or family member? Have you ever felt abandoned and unwanted? Perhaps everyone goes through some moments in their lives when they experience loneliness and abandonment to different degrees. The Israelites whom the Lord freed from slavery to the Egyptians found themselves in cycles of sin and reconciliation while in the wilderness and in the land promised to them, and because of their own choices they fell to the Babylonians and went into captivity. There they felt abandoned and forgotten by God. But we know that can’t be the case.

God never abandons His people, but He may at times permit us to feel His absence. The Israelites fell to the Babylonians because of their reckless decisions in putting their trust and faith in other peoples instead of in God. They made the wrong pacts, forgetting their covenant with God, the only One who could save them. The verses above were spoken to the people while they were in exile in Babylon. This was the response of God when the people has said God has forgotten them. “Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you” (Isaiah 49:15). Just as a mother could not forget her child, neither could God. But even if the mother did, God said He would never forget that child. God never forgets you.

Brothers and sisters, sometimes in life and in our spiritual lives we may feel as if God has forgotten us, especially when everything seems to be going wrong — losing our jobs, broken relationships, financial troubles, unexpected deaths, terminal illnesses, natural disasters, mental distress, etc. When we are tempted to wallow in those moments, let us find the courage to recall the times when we have strongly felt God’s presence and protection, and allow those moments to carry us back to the Lord. What God has done for us in the past, He will do for us again now and in the future.

Faith tells us that God will never abandon us, hope gives us the assurance that God is with us, and the love of God is what sustains us. We must hold fast to these three: faith, hope, and love. We are loved by God, and those whom He loves He will never forget for His love is eternal and steadfast. He has promised us this, and He who has promised us is trustworthy. God will never abandon us.

Not As Obvious

“When Jesus saw him lying there
and knew that he had been ill for a long time, he said to him,
‘Do you want to be well?’
The sick man answered him,
‘Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool
when the water is stirred up; while I am on my way, someone else gets down there before me.’”

John 5:6-7

Have you ever been in a situation where what at first seemed obvious turned out to have several more layers to it? For example, a young child at school is not paying attention in class and does not get much work done. One of the first thoughts might be “This kid is lazy. He just wants to play.” Since the child repeatedly got out of his seat during the morning and hardly any questions on the in-class worksheet, his lunch recess is being taken away. The child is not happy and does not listen to the teacher during his time in and so a note is sent home for the parents to read, sign, and schedule for a phone call or in-person meeting. The next day the child comes to school without a signed note and the teacher had just had about enough.

After talking with the family, the teacher found out that the parents are going through a divorce and the child has been staying at several places throughout the week and the only time he ever has the chance to play and interact with friends his age is at school. After referring the child to the school psychologist it was determined that he actually has a specific learning disability. So, it is not that the child did not want to pay attention in class and learn, but because he did not even have the most foundational necessities, every other part of his life was affected.

In the Gospel today we hear about the encounter between Jesus and a man who had been ill for 38 years and who for all those years have lain there waiting for someone to put him in the pool of healing waters. Jesus asked him “Do you want to be well?” The man answered with an excuse — no one had helped him in the pool. But that wasn’t Jesus’ question. He asked if he wanted to be well, not why he was lying there. Jesus commanded him to rise, take up his mat, and walk. He did. When Jesus encounters him again later, he tells him, “Look, you are well; do not sin any more, so that nothing worse may happen to you.” There is mention of sin not physical handicap. Perhaps it was not a physical handicap that kept the man ill for 38 years but a spiritual and emotional one that weighed him down, manifesting a physical handicap. Jesus saw this, and He knew what the man needed. He didn’t need someone to help him into the pool, he needed his sins to be forgiven, and only Jesus could do that for him.

Brothers and sisters, sometimes what we need may not be as obvious, and sometimes the problems that bring us frustration and anxiety might be about something much deeper. Bring all this to prayer and let the Lord who alone knows the depths of our hearts reveal all those things to you so that you might answer the Lord when he asks, “Do you want to be well?”