This man with leprosy believed that Jesus could make him clean, if He was willing.
Lord, if You are willing You can make me clean.
Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego faced a fiery furnace. They knew that God was able to save them from it, but even if He did not they refused to bow down to another (see Daniel 3:16-18).
Lord, if You are willing You can save us from the fire.
Jesus can do anything. He can do the impossible (see Matthew 19:26 & Luke 1:37).
Do you believe that?
He can rescue us from the fiery trials that we face. He can heal any kind of disease. He can restore broken marriages. He can free us from addictions. He can bring the dead to life.
Nothing is too difficult for Him (see Genesis 18:14 & Jeremiah 32:27).
Sometimes He doesn’t rescue, heal, restore, free or resurrect on this side of heaven, but that doesn’t mean that He is unable to.
What does it mean then?
Why was the Father not willing to let this cup pass from Jesus, His beloved child?
Was it because He was displeased with the one praying? Was God angry at him, ignoring him or apathetic towards him?
Not at all.
Jesus was His Son, the beloved of the Father. So why was He not willing to deliver His Son from the horrific, grave circumstances that He was facing?
It was love.
Not just love for Jesus but undying love for all of us. God allowed this suffering because He knew the end result would greatly impact the world forever; providing the way to a restored relationship with the Father and life everlasting with Him.
We have the privilege of knowing the rest of the story, but what if we were there in the Garden with Jesus or there at the foot of the cross as He hung upon it? Would we question God’s Sovereignty? Would we wonder why He wasn’t willing to save His Son?
Faith is being sure of what we do not see (see Hebrews 11:1) We choose to believe even when what we see seems contradictory to our beliefs. God is who He says He is or He is not.
I’m not trying to explain away your pain. I just know that sometimes our finite minds are limited and our eyes are short-sighted. If God is not willing to let the cup pass in your life, I believe that it is for a greater purpose than what we can see at present.
God is Sovereign. Trust that He is Loving. Rest assured that He is Just.
You can take shelter in His Sovereignty and rest in His ability to cover you and keep you underneath the shelter of His wings. He cares deeply for you- so much so that He was unwilling to let the cup of His wrath pass from Jesus. He was willing to let His Son die so that you could live.
You are precious in His sight and loved beyond comprehension. You can be confident as you rest under the umbrella of His will, because He is faithful.
He is able to do anything. He is willing to make you clean through Jesus. He loves you that much. He did everything for you at the cross with arms spread wide open in love for you, that you may be saved.
I’ll leave you with a song declaring His power and His ability to do the impossible.
Nothing is impossible with God
Nothing is too hard for Him
He is able, more than able, to do anything.
He is Sovereign, He is Wise, He is Great, has limitless strength.
He’s the God who sees, the God who knows, the God Everlasting, the God of me.
Praying for Miracles,
Katie
Daniel 3:17-18 “If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”
*This post is part of a 30 day devotional series for the Cure Cancer Fast. Come on over and join the movement.
I needed this today! God directed me for sure to your post. Great job. Visiting from Holley Gerth.
Thanks Paige.:)
This is good to read, Katie. My step mother is dying of lymphoma and a dear friend just got not-so-great news about his cancer. It brings perspective to remember that no matter what we or loved ones are going through now, God loves us enough to sacrifice His son for us.
What I love about that prayer Jesus prays in Gethsemane is that God DOES answer. In the next verse we read that He sends an angel to strengthen His son. (sometimes we too get a different answer than we expect.)
I am so sorry about your step mother Betsy and your dear friend too. Thank you for your reminder about God sending the angel to strengthen Jesus too- awesome!
Thank you for this beautiful reminder that I can’t, but GOD CAN. Claiming and believing this today. <3
Thank you Meredith- needing that reminder a lot too!
I have contemplated this very question: “He can, but will He?” God is all powerful, but He gets to decide when and how He is going to use this power. This can really frustrate me, but trusting in His divine plan certainly helps. One thing I can be sure of though, is that He makes me clean! My sins are forgiven as soon as I ask, and for that I am forever grateful!
It can frustrate me too Laura.:) I like to be in charge, but I am ill-equipped to run the universe.
I’ve always struggled with this. Knowing God can, but will He?
A few years ago when we were looking at possible foreclosure on our home, I knew God could make a way, but I didn’t know if He would. When I finally surrendered and said, “You know what? It doesn’t matter. We are doing all we know to do, if God wants this for us in our lives then I will trust Him.”
I never felt freer than in that moment of release.
I still have to remind myself to keep surrendering, but having this moment to refer back to reminds me that ‘even-if …”does happen I will still be ok.
Thank you Alecia for sharing your testimony and real-life example of “He can but will He?” Enjoyed your post today!
“If God is not willing to let the cup pass in your life, I believe that it is for a greater purpose than what we can see at present.” Katie, I needed this message today…truly. Beautifully written and a powerful message. Much love. xoxo
Hi Beth- Snow your way?:) I need this message too, glad it helped you- praising God.:)
Such an important encouragement when we face hard things and God does not seem to be answering. It can be such a battle to stand firm in faith. On Sunday I was teaching the high schoolers that God is at work even when the situation seems like He isn’t answering. Visiting from Coffee for Your Heart.
Thank you Ginger.:)
Such a hard truth some times, especially when it seems like everyone else has it together. It is so easy to believe the lie that Jesus doesn’t care or that He is punishing us.
Hi Sarah- A hard truth indeed. Oh how He loves us even when we don’t believe it.