'Trust in the Lord.' Proverbs 3:5
The Bible says, 'Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths' (v. 5-6 NKJV). But what if your path leads through pain, pressure and problems? John the Baptist's did. He didn't deserve imprisonment. After all, he was the forerunner of Christ and the voice of God in the community. Plus, he was Jesus' cousin. So he sent Jesus a message asking, 'Are you really the Messiah, or should we keep looking?' Paraphrased: 'Lord, if I'm in your will, how come I'm in this situation?' It's a question motivated by unfulfilled expectations. We think, 'Lord, I've obeyed you, how come things aren't working out for me?' And it feels worse when you've faithfully served Him.
Writing about her daughter's death, Meg Woodson says, 'I'll never forget those shrill, piercing screams; that the God who could have helped, looked down on this young woman who was devoted to Him...and decided to sit on His hands and let her death top the horror charts.' Talk about unmet expectations! Jesus could have saved John, but He didn't. Instead He sent back word: 'Don't worry, everything's on target, the kingdom is being built. You did your job well' (Matthew 11:4-5). It probably wasn't the answer John hoped for. He was looking for solutions to temporal problems while Jesus was busy establishing an eternal kingdom. So next time God doesn't seem to meet your expectations, it's not that He doesn't care; it's that He sees the big picture and He's handling issues you can't even begin to comprehend. So trust Him!
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