Matthew 11:2-3 GOD’S WORD Translation
John Sends Two Disciples
2 When John was in prison, he heard about the things Christ had done. So he sent his disciples 3 to ask Jesus, “Are you the one who is coming, or should we all now look for someone else?”
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.
My Faith Has Been Shaken, My Life Fully Stirred Up
Sometimes my faith is severely shaken when the course of my life is altered, the course of my wife or my children’s life is altered and my dreams are shattered.
I wonder where God is in the midst of my doubts about God, my suffering soul.
I cannot always sense His presence as I have when things we going fairly well.
I will feel alone and afraid, wondering about my future and my wife’s.
I set my thoughts to the ways the world presents itself in the media and what my son must contend with raising my grandson to be someone of faith, truth.
Truthfully, my soul gets all stirred up, my faith in my Savior wavers sometimes.
I question what I have long believed.
I wonder what is prophetic, what is real and truthful and faithful from the Word of God especially when my personal experience doesn’t match my expectations.
This wavering deeply troubles me.
I have tasted and felt the winds of the vanity of man, man’s inhumanity of man, I have tasted bitterness I would never wish even upon my very worst enemies.
I have tasted God’s goodness, enjoyed close fellowship with him, rested in his tender care, known His grace and been blessed beyond what I know I deserved.
I can say that I have known both His power, His healing and his love.
Yet in the midst of such profound struggles, I have no answers, just questions.
Answers which I’m not entirely sure I’ll receive with more faith than with more doubt that I know somewhere deep inside me is sourced from an irrational fear.
The question of having any hope for a prosperous future?
Mine, and for generations of my family yet to come?
I will only scratch my head and shrug my shoulders and maybe I might just get around to actually and authentically fervently and ceaselessly praying to God.
But, I guess right now, I kind of feel like John the Baptist, sitting in a Prison cell.
Matthew 11:2-3 Amplified Bible
2 Now when [a]John [the Baptist] in prison heard about the activities of Christ, he sent word by his disciples 3 and asked Him, “Are You the Expected One (the Messiah), or should we look for someone else [who will be the promised One]?”
I am wise enough to know there are still going to be things in life that were out of my control, myriads of things which I could never hope to anticipate, would cause me to acknowledge my raising doubts, feel shaken from the inside out.
And let’s be honest, however wise I believe myself to be, and God knows me to be on any given day and in any given moment of time, I say, how I hated that!
It doesn’t matter if you are a new Christian or a maturing or mature believer; we are all subject to the potential of having our faith shaken up from time to time.
But let it be known that even when our faith is going through a shaky season, this doesn’t mean that our Savior God is any less sovereign or any less loving.
Our God has the continuous ability to bless even those going through a season of abandoned, back-sliding, fractured, wavering, doubtful and lukewarm faith, to use those seasons of those who doubt and bring comfort and reassurance to those whose faith is wavering… Gospel Narratives are replete with such stories.
The Samaritan Woman in the heat of the day at the Well in John Chapter 4
The Woman with the Issue of Blood whom even the smartest of those ancient Doctors and Priests could not find a reason or cure – whose faith in God told her that if she could just “get close enough to his tunic – she would then be healed.” (Luke 8:43-48)
The Good Samaritan.
The Prodigal Son.
Blind Bartimaeus
The Lepers.
The long disabled Man who spent over 38 years waiting for someone to help him into the angel stirred healing waters at the Pool of Bethesda. (John 5:1-9)
The 100+ year old Patriarch Abraham who was commanded by God to sacrifice the greatest gift he had ever received – his own son, Isaac.
The Israelite slaves in Egypt.
Moses and the burning bush,
Peter the apostle who denied Jesus three times and Zechariah who did not believe that God could give him a son… just to name a few of the hundreds!
The Wailing Lament of the Song of the Exiles from Psalm 137.
I hope we get the idea that a shaken faith is nothing new to God’s ears or to the compassionate and sometimes tearful eyes and heart and soul of Jesus Christ.
But for today, let’s try to take a drive into the shaken faith of John of Baptist.
The Shaken Faith of John the Baptist
The whole gospel of John is one that clearly tells its readers from the beginning of chapter one verse one to the very last full stop that Jesus was the Messiah… the Lamb of God who was to take away the sin of the world. (John 1:29)
He knew who Jesus was while he was still in his mother Elizabeth’s womb and leapt for joy in the womb when a pregnant Mary approached them (Luke 1:44).
John the Baptist witnessed the Spirit of God descend and remain on Jesus with God declaring Christ as His Son. (Matthew 3:16-17).
But even John the Baptist who knew through divine revelation and firsthand experience Jesus was the Messiah, had his faith shaken while he was in prison.
While it is not explicitly said why John the Baptist was having second thoughts and doubts about Jesus, it makes sense that John the Baptist in the midst of his suffering sought real reassurance from Jesus that He was indeed the Messiah.
Matthew 11:2-6 GOD’S WORD Translation
John Sends Two Disciples
2 When John was in prison, he heard about the things Christ had done. So he sent his disciples 3 to ask Jesus, “Are you the one who is coming, or should we all now look for someone else?”
4 Jesus answered John’s disciples, “Go back, and tell John what you hear and see: 5 Blind people see again, lame people are walking, those with skin diseases are made clean, deaf people hear again, dead people are brought back to life, and poor people hear the Good News. 6 Whoever doesn’t lose his faith in me is indeed blessed.”
While John the Baptist was a hardcore preaching believer, one of the few who had been able to experience so many confirmations from God Himself that Jesus was indeed the Messiah, he still experienced a season of shaken faith.
And yet, Jesus still felt so much love and mercy towards John and his shaken faith because instead of getting angry and cynical for his lack of faith, instead, sent word back to John to confirm to him He was exactly who He said He was.
What Does This Mean for Us in Our Present Context?
Has your faith ever been shaken?
Is your faith being shaken right now?
How about the faith of your spouse?
How about the faith of your young children?
How about the faith of your teenage children?
How about the faith of your adult children raising their own young or teenage or adult children or even their grandchildren?
How about the faith of your best friend?
How about the faith of your church and church community?
How about the faith of your Pastor leading your church?
How about the faith of the Laity of the church who make the decisions?
How about the faith of the laity who sit in the pews or watch on Social Media?
I guess you get the idea – people with a shaken faith are definitely an issue!
John’s and Our Own Unfulfilled Expectations
John knew from Scripture that he who gave the blind sight, made the lame walk, and preached good news to the poor could surely open “the prison to those who are bound” as prophesied in Isaiah 61:1-3 God’s Word Translation.
The Lord Will Anoint His Servant with His Spirit
61 The Spirit of the Almighty Lord is with me
because the Lord has anointed me
to deliver good news to humble people.
He has sent me
to heal those who are brokenhearted,
to announce that captives will be set free
and prisoners will be released.
2 ⌞He has sent me⌟
to announce the year of the Lord’s good will
and the day of our God’s vengeance,
to comfort all those who grieve.
3 ⌞He has sent me⌟
to provide for all those who grieve in Zion,
to give them crowns instead of ashes,
the oil of joy instead of ⌞tears of⌟ grief,
and clothes of praise instead of a spirit of weakness.
They will be called Oaks of Righteousness,
the Plantings of the Lord,
so that he might display his glory.
But Jesus didn’t do that for John.
Jesus did not directly affirm John’s future and the future of John’s calling.
So perhaps at this point, staunch believer John doubted what he knew.
If Jesus was indeed the Messiah, John probably expected to have a role in his earthly kingdom beyond his extended stay in Herod’s prison cell.
He wouldn’t have expected to start with such a high calling, preparing the way of the Lord in the wilderness, only to have end his life and his ministry end in a small prison cell with his head quite literally on someone else’s silver platter.
Besides, John preached that the Messiah would come with an unquenchable fire. With judgment. With power. He likely expected that to be in his lifetime.
None of those human expectations coincided with God’s reality.
And that may have caused John to doubt.
Unfulfilled expectations often elicit that response in me.
Especially when I have tried very hard to be faithful and true to God my Savior.
Jesus doesn’t condemn John for his doubts.
He even says that no one greater than John has ever lived.
He understands why John is asking the question.
And Jesus’s response to him reinforces what John already knows: that Jesus is indeed the Messiah.
At the same time, Jesus knows that John’s public ministry is over.
Just like the saints in Hebrews 11, John wouldn’t receive all God’s promises but could only greet them from afar.
He would not serve with Jesus or see the fulfillment of God’s kingdom or see the crucifixion or be an eye witness to the empty tomb and Christ’s Resurrection.
But one day he would.
One day he would see his glorious part in God’s magnificent plan.
He, the last of the old covenant prophets, would see how God used him to prepare the world to receive Jesus.
And John would rejoice.
But for now, John has to accept the Messiah’s plans for his life.
Plans that are different than what he envisioned.
He has to dwell on what he knows to be true rather than fixate on his own circumstances.
He has to remember who God is and trust him from a dark prison.
And so it is with me.
When all our best laid hopes crumble all around us
When my plans crumble and God takes me away from my dreams, I must over a period of time come back to the place where I will again renew and refresh my trust in God’s infinite wisdom over my own current failing and faulty displays.
When my cup of suffering enters into those moments when it seems too much for me to bear, I know I will need my Shabbat rest in His immeasurable love.
When my personal efforts at self control enters into the realm of “Oh No!” my life turns, spins out of control, I need to remember God’s absolute sovereignty.
I may not, probably will not, understand what is happening.
But I cannot stop talking to him.
Or turn away in fear.
I must simply go to Jesus, tell him my doubts, desire for a stronger faith.
Ask him to help me see.
Psalm 13 The Message
13 1-2 Long enough, God—
you’ve ignored me long enough.
I’ve looked at the back of your head
long enough. Long enough
I’ve carried this ton of trouble,
lived with a stomach full of pain.
Long enough my arrogant enemies
have looked down their noses at me.
3-4 Take a good look at me, God, my God;
I want to look life in the eye,
So no enemy can get the best of me
or laugh when I fall on my face.
5-6 I’ve thrown myself headlong into your arms—
I’m celebrating your rescue.
I’m singing at the top of my lungs,
I’m so full of answered prayers.
John’s doubts are the same as mine and maybe the same as your own or your spouses, your children’s, your co-workers, best friend, even your churches.
I will wonder if God is who He says He is.
And if everything is indeed under his control. And if he authentically loves me.
And when I doubt, God calls me, as he did John, to trust what I know to be true.
To trust the bedrock principles that I know from Scripture and from experience.
That God is completely sovereign.
And loving.
And wise.
Not a sparrow falls to the ground apart from his knowing everything about it.
In this life, I may never see or know how God is using my trials.
In this life you may never see or know how God is using your trials.
But one day you and I will certainly be grateful for them.
All you and I can do now is trust that God who made the lame walk and the blind see, who died on a cross so I could spend eternity with him, is 100% going to do absolutely the very best thing for me, the absolute very best thing for you also.
It all comes down to coming back to our obedience, faith, and our trust in God.
Will we trust our understanding of our circumstances that constantly change?
Or will we trust in an understanding and much wiser God who is unchanging?
For the believer or even the non-believer or the sceptic or the cynic who has been met with the unexpected or thrown into a situation that makes no sense,
We can all, in the course of time be reassured that God is exactly who He is.
His promises have always been fulfilled (Joshua 21:45) and He isn’t a God that will leave you on your own or anyone else on their own.
His promises have always been punctuated with His Alleluia and His Amen.
He is ready to answer our prayers when we cast our anxieties and cares on Him (Philippians 4:5-6) and as we come to Him, He promises to carry our burdens.
Key Final Thoughts
As John faced the struggle of his life, he maintained his integrity and his faithfulness.
His motivation was simply to know for sure that Jesus was who John believed him to be.
He was not afraid to face death or doubt as he sought God’s truth and lived God’s life with commitment.
Nearly all of us go through periods of doubt or struggle with difficult questions about our faith.
Struggle with difficult questions, in and of itself, is not wrong or is it something to be feared.
Christianity has withstood the criticisms, scrutiny, accusations, and doubt of centuries of our world’s best thinkers and harshest skeptics.
The issue with these kinds of struggles is whether we maintain Godly character with faithfulness in our ministry, holiness in our lifestyle, and honesty in our motives, speech, and actions.
As we work through our struggles, if we are true to these Godly characteristics, we will find that our doubts and questions move us toward faith rather than toward disbelief.
The biggest problem with struggles and doubts will occur when we break faithfulness and Satan can unleash a chain of consequences that weaken us spiritually.
So in struggle and doubt, remember these three things:
faithfulness in our ministry,
holiness in our lifestyle, and
honesty and Integrity and God in our motives, speech, and actions.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us pray,
O Lord, God of the great expanse and my Abba Father who adopted me in grace, please help me face myself when I look into a mirror. Please give me courage to face my doubts. Empower me with strength to face my struggles. Give me a heart that depends on the Holy Spirit’s guidance. O God, I want to honor you with my behavior and my choices. More than just knowing the truth, dear God, I want to know you and to display your truth in my life. In the name of my Lord Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.
Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 