Jaw-dropping Jewels about Jesus
Rarely does Jesus, God the Son, do exactly what we expect of Him. It seems odd that He so frequently surprises us, given that He never changes. Hebrews 13:8 makes this absolute statement: “Jesus the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” Still, though He is blessedly consistent in His goodness, Jesus does unforeseen things. Even when He does what is expected, He does not always do it in the way that we anticipate. Let us join with Jesus on a jaw-dropping journey. (I will be using this opening paragraph for each of the brief messages in this series. The following material will change daily.)
The seeming silence of God in Revelation 8:2-6 focuses our attention on the cumulative effect of prayer (“the prayers of all saints” – verse 3) and His persistence in hearing and answering (“the prayers of the saints ascended up before God” – verse 4). A helpful example of dealing with delays in answers to prayer is found in Daniel 10. That prophet prayed for insight, pouring out his heart for “three full weeks” (verse 2). No answer came immediately. Later, an angel delivered a divine message and added that God had heard Daniel’s prayer “from the first day” (verse 12). Daniel is then granted additional insight into the reality of spiritual warfare (verse 13). We must not misinterpret this passage to suggest that God is limited in His abilities and unable to answer prayer and combat demonic powers at the same time. Rather, we should see that He was fully aware and fully in control throughout this period of seeming silence. Daniel’s faith was strengthened as he waited for an answer, for he demonstrated that faith as he continued to pray. Moreover, he was granted not only the desired understanding of his vision but also a glimpse into the spiritual realm. Thus, he ultimately received even more than he asked for. The omnipotence of our Savior God will be revealed to us, as well, for He is blessedly persistent.