And he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and when he had spit on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, "Do you see anything?" And he looked up and said, "I see people, but they look like trees, walking." Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. - Mark 8:23-25 ESV
I’m still pondering why Jesus chose to heal the blind man in this way. Jesus could have certainly restored the man’s sight with a single word, so why lay hands on him twice? What are we to learn from this?
Well, one lesson is that God answers prayer in His own way, not mine. I’ve often prayed over something with a specific outcome in mind. God frequently answers in ways that I wasn’t expecting. This very blog is an example of that. A week ago, I was almost done with some thoughts on a completely different passage. I was (and still am) stuck on the last few sentences. So I asked the Holy Spirit to give me those closing words, and He brought this passage in Mark to mind instead.
Not what I asked for. His answer meant that I was posting last week’s entry much later than I usually do. Since I am a planner, I was pretty uncomfortable (i.e., nervous and frustrated) about that.
And sometimes, God gives us only part of His answer and tells us to wait for the next piece. He only partially healed the man’s sight at the first touch. He showed me only part of what He had for me to share about this passage last week.
Why have us wait for the answer? Two reasons for me: to keep me from running too far ahead in my planning and to build my faith and trust in Him. If I can plan things too far into the future or am too comfortable with how things are going, I might neglect to invite the Lord into my plans for the day. When, on the other hand, I only have part of a plan or am unsure about what to do next, I have to stick close to God. Then I can see better what He’s doing in my life, and that makes it so much easier to trust Him with what I don’t yet understand.
But for you, O LORD, do I wait; it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer.
Psalm 38:15 ESV
Think About: What have you learned from God’s unexpected or partial answers to your prayers?
Comentários