LET GOD BE GOD

“Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?”  (Matthew 11:3)

This was the question John the Baptist sent his disciples to go and ask Jesus. Coming from John the Baptist, this is rather puzzling. This was John – the forerunner of Jesus, the one who knew him right from the womb and who later identified Him: “behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world” (John 1:29).

So, what caused John to doubt that which he knew to be true about Jesus and to become offended in Him? (Matthew 11:6). John was serving God diligently; vociferous in proclaiming the kingdom of God and in denouncing the ills of society.

However, John now finds himself imprisoned by Herod for his candidness (Matt 11:2), and to make matters worse, Jesus had not come to his aid; He had not even visited. As John thought about this and hearing that Jesus had carried on with ministry as usual, doubt must have grown. Obviously Jesus’ actions did not fit John’s expectation of what the messiah should be about: “Are you the Messiah or is there another?”

No matter how pious and dedicated we are to God, our faith will be tried. Situations and circumstances can pressure us into doubt and even cause us to resent God. We may be expecting God to change according to our whims and find ourselves asking: “How can this be happening to me?”

Trust God to be God. Do not doubt Him because things are not going your way. The Lord is God not because He meets our selfish definition of Him and what He should do for us. He is God by self-revelation! Let God be God in your life!

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