By: Rex Stump
Wauseon, Ohio
There are some people who seem to be blessed with gifted lives and 100% success and joy. Then there are others who experience daily pain, and wonder if they will ever get through it. In between the two, you find many ride the rollercoaster of both the joy and the pain.
What about you? Have you ever experienced a long season? Win a few, lose a few…mostly lose a few.
Maybe you have been praying for something for a long time, and it seems that the answer is taking its time to arrive. Slower than what you want. Why must we wait so long for good news?
I used to coach my players with this saying, “Inch by inch, life is a cinch. Yard by yard, life is hard!” I wanted them to know that sometimes victory takes time and effort.
Instead of biting off too much at one time or trying to do more than we are capable of – take it in small bites. Overcoming a big deficit will take some chipping away and perseverance. One stage at a time, one action at a time…allow time for things to progress.
In Mark 8:22-26 we find this story: “When they arrived at Bethsaida, some people brought a blind man to Jesus, and they begged him to touch the man and heal him.
Jesus took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village. Then, spitting on the man’s eyes, he laid his hands on him and asked, “Can you see anything now?” The man looked around. “Yes,” he said, “I see people, but I can’t see them very clearly.
They look like trees walking around.” Then Jesus placed his hands on the man’s eyes again, and his eyes were opened.
His sight was completely restored, and he could see everything clearly. Jesus sent him away, saying, “Don’t go back into the village on your way home.”
We read story after story of Jesus instantaneously healing people. Sometimes he did it without even being present! And then we have this story of a delayed healing.
We know this miracle wasn’t too difficult for Jesus. He didn’t need extra time or power. He just chose to heal this man in stages. Maybe he wanted to show his disciples that sometimes healing comes in stages.
We live in an instantaneous, fast-paced, and “get-it-now” world. Instantaneous is what we expect not only from the fast-food place but from Jesus too.
However, sometimes spiritual truths come in stages. What we learned as a kid, sometimes doesn’t make sense or stick until we grow a little older.
As time passes, things become clearer and more insightful. The good news is that in the end he is healed completely.
You may be in a multi-stage process of healing right now, waiting patiently for God to heal the hurt, either emotional or physical. You have asked for healing, you have sought help, and you wonder…”today, Lord?” Hang in there.
He knows the season you are going through and the kind of day you are having. He hears our prayers and He heals – sometimes in stages and sometimes instantaneously.
Be patient. He knows. He loves you, and He heals. Sometimes immediately, sometimes in stages.
“Stay strong, stay focused…stay faithful!”
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Rex Stump is the Area Director for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and serves as a Pastor at True North Church in Wauseon, Ohio.