In the Gospel story of the man who had been waiting by the Bethesda healing pool in Jerusalem for an opportunity to be carried inside (Jn.5:1-16), the man told Jesus that there was nobody to help carry him into the pool whenever it had been stirred by an angel. So he had been waiting for 38 years, watching those who had helpers get healed; watching those who were sick but not crippled like him get in before him and deny him an opportunity; watching people leave him behind even though they had only recently come to the pool while he had been waiting for 38 years.
One cannot help but be struck by the lack of bitterness in almost all the recipients of miraculous recoveries in Scripture. Christ made it clear that belief or faith is required for a miracle to occur, but is there also an unspoken requirement of perseverance? Can one expect a miracle to occur in one’s life if one is consumed by resentment and bitterness for being stuck in a situation that seems unfair? Can we expect miracles if we are envious of those who are getting what we are desperately waiting for without as much effort as we are putting in?
I suspect not. Especially if we have previously experienced divine interventions in our lives. The worst part is that the resentment will blind us to the divine visitation that is ordained to give us relief. Odds are that if the sick man had been busy loudly lamenting and bewailing his unlucky fate to those nearby, he would not have been singled out by Jesus. He would have missed his divine visitation. If he was defined by logical thinking, he would have expected any supernatural help to just get him into the healing pool before everyone else. He certainly would not expect to just be told to “Rise, take up your mat, and walk.”
Only God knows how many opportunities of divine help have bypassed us while we were busy lamenting our fate to those near us. Only God knows how many obstacles we could have overcome, if we were not looking for complicated or popular solutions. Only God knows how many times we have denied Him the opportunity to glorify His name to the world because we had withdrawn into ourselves in bitter resignation.
May God’s Holy Spirit of power, love and a strong mind give us the strength to persevere in our challenges even as we trustingly pray for relief. May we develop the habit of speaking frankly to our heavenly Father and opening our hearts to Him when in pain or when frustrated, even as we emphasize that we trust His plans for us. May we thus be rewarded with divine tokens and assurances of His merciful love and answers of peace. May our pains and perseverance always open the doors of divine, hitherto unknown, possibilities. Amen.
Hilltop Thoughts, Valley Strengths 