One of the facts of Christian life that seems most inexplicable is God’s not rescuing His most faithful and obedient servants from trouble. We know very well that He could if He chose, commission a whole battalion of angels to protects us, or command a sea to split down the middle, or iron bars to disintegrate. Why does He sit up there, safe in His heaven, and do absolutely nothing?
Hold the question a minute. Why, when the greatest man besides Jesus, John the Baptist, came, did people fail to recognize him? Why did God let them “work their will upon him” (Matt. 17:12)? Why was the Son of Man Himself “given up into the power of men” (Matt. 17:22)?
It is a picture of helplessness. Imagine—He who by His Word alone brought oceans, mountains, and suns into existence, was given up, handed over, made a present of—to wicked men.
Even the helplessness of God’s servants is still under His control. He permits it. He does not tell us why when we want to know. He asks us to trust Him, to wait, quietly and see His salvation—a far greater thing than a sudden rescue would have been.
But Lord—It’s hard for us to wait. Help us, please. Give us the same patience and trust that You gave to John the Baptist and to Your Son.
**Excerpt originally published in Guided by God’s Promises, Pgs. 174-175.