LOOKING TOWARDS OUR LORD

Instead of looking towards the Lord, we tend to look at ourselves. I know I do! We worry that we do not have enough faith or that we are not believing in the right way. Some tell us that if we do not believe that it is God’s will that we should all be healed—always, but I cannot believe this. Why not? Because all of us die, no matter how much faith we have or whether we believe that it is God’s will to heal us all. However, if we hope in Him, our Lord is not limited by these factors:

• Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. (Ephesians 3:20-21)

We find many examples of Jesus exceeding our hopes. Jesus had raised Lazarus after he was in the tomb for four days. This had exceeded the faith of even his godly sisters, Martha and Mary:

• Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” (John 11:39-40)

They hadn’t believed. No one did! However, this didn’t impede Jesus!

We serve a glorious Savior who surprises us by going beyond our limitations, beyond “all that we ask or think.” Instead, He promises us:

• The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry…When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. (Psalm 34:15, 17)

Sometimes, it’s simply a matter of giving us joy, patience, and confidence amid the suffering. At other times, He removes the adversity, even if we might have to wait.