Have you ever felt very sure of something you heard from God and then later wondered if you had gotten it all wrong? That what you heard must have come from your own thoughts and imagination?
John the Baptist had already baptized Jesus in the Jordan River and seen the skies break open and the Holy Spirit rest on Jesus in the form of a dove. Talk about confirmation! Yet, here he was rotting in chains in a dank prison. Could he have gotten it all wrong? Was that supernatural vision he saw just a figment of his imagination? Or perhaps the dove marked Jesus as only another great prophet, as some even now relegate Him. Or perhaps the dove was real, but John had misheard God’s previous instructions concerning identifying the Messiah.
Jesus called John the Baptist the greatest man who’d ever lived up to that time. [Matthew 111:11]. Not Abraham, not Moses, not Elijah or Elisha...not even David! Yet here he was, after confidently devoting his whole life to preparing people for the coming of the Messiah, not sure if he’d made a mistake.
When our circumstances; the things we can see, hear, feel, taste, and experience with our bodies...and even our souls; don’t line up with what we’ve perceived and apprehended through our spirit, what now? Do we assume we’ve misheard God or perhaps misunderstood His promises? If even John the Baptist wondered, how much more should we be aware that we, too, are subject to such discouragement?
However, that should never be the end of the story. It is by affirming our faith and our belief, despite what we see with our physical eyes, that we will see that which God sees, and see that which He desires manifested for us in our natural world. We must walk out our faith and belief in what God has said, with our ears plugged and our eyes masked to anything contradictory shouting at us from the sidelines, until we see what He has said come to pass. We musn’t assume that we’ve misheard God, that we’ve misunderstood His Word, or that He doesn’t want that healing or provision for us. Or even, as many think, that He doesn’t really care about us in that very personal way.
If the prison walls seem dank around you, and the fetid water is seeping through around you, know that He hasn’t forgotten you in the least, and that His desire and plans for you are for His Shalom of body, soul, and spirit. See what He sees in your ‘mind’s’ eye. Keep walking toward the door withevery expectation and belief in its opening when you place your hand on the locked knob and turn the
handle.
*******************
*“...John the Baptist, who had been put in prison, heard what the Messiah had been doing, so he sent a message to him through his disciples asking, ‘Are You the one who is to come, or should we look for someone else?’ “ Matthew 11:2-3
“Now faith is the assurance (title deed, confirmation) of things hoped for (divinely guaranteed), being the proof of things not seen and the conviction of their reality [faith comprehending as real fact what is not revealed to the senses].”
—Hebrews 11:1 (Amplified Bible)
“Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding.” —Proverbs 3:5 (Amplified)
John the Baptist had already baptized Jesus in the Jordan River and seen the skies break open and the Holy Spirit rest on Jesus in the form of a dove. Talk about confirmation! Yet, here he was rotting in chains in a dank prison. Could he have gotten it all wrong? Was that supernatural vision he saw just a figment of his imagination? Or perhaps the dove marked Jesus as only another great prophet, as some even now relegate Him. Or perhaps the dove was real, but John had misheard God’s previous instructions concerning identifying the Messiah.
Jesus called John the Baptist the greatest man who’d ever lived up to that time. [Matthew 111:11]. Not Abraham, not Moses, not Elijah or Elisha...not even David! Yet here he was, after confidently devoting his whole life to preparing people for the coming of the Messiah, not sure if he’d made a mistake.
When our circumstances; the things we can see, hear, feel, taste, and experience with our bodies...and even our souls; don’t line up with what we’ve perceived and apprehended through our spirit, what now? Do we assume we’ve misheard God or perhaps misunderstood His promises? If even John the Baptist wondered, how much more should we be aware that we, too, are subject to such discouragement?
However, that should never be the end of the story. It is by affirming our faith and our belief, despite what we see with our physical eyes, that we will see that which God sees, and see that which He desires manifested for us in our natural world. We must walk out our faith and belief in what God has said, with our ears plugged and our eyes masked to anything contradictory shouting at us from the sidelines, until we see what He has said come to pass. We musn’t assume that we’ve misheard God, that we’ve misunderstood His Word, or that He doesn’t want that healing or provision for us. Or even, as many think, that He doesn’t really care about us in that very personal way.
If the prison walls seem dank around you, and the fetid water is seeping through around you, know that He hasn’t forgotten you in the least, and that His desire and plans for you are for His Shalom of body, soul, and spirit. See what He sees in your ‘mind’s’ eye. Keep walking toward the door withevery expectation and belief in its opening when you place your hand on the locked knob and turn the
handle.
*******************
*“...John the Baptist, who had been put in prison, heard what the Messiah had been doing, so he sent a message to him through his disciples asking, ‘Are You the one who is to come, or should we look for someone else?’ “ Matthew 11:2-3
“Now faith is the assurance (title deed, confirmation) of things hoped for (divinely guaranteed), being the proof of things not seen and the conviction of their reality [faith comprehending as real fact what is not revealed to the senses].”
—Hebrews 11:1 (Amplified Bible)
“Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding.” —Proverbs 3:5 (Amplified)
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Morning Manna....to read and share....