When God Doesn't Fix It by Laura Story

Author:Laura Story [Story, Laura]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: ebook
ISBN: 9780310089162
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Published: 2016-02-01T05:00:00+00:00

1. Read Romans 5:1–5. How does Paul say we gain peace and hope in this world?

2. What does it mean to “boast in the hope of the glory of God”?

3. According to Paul, why should we also glory in our sufferings? How do the trials in our lives produce character and hope?

Day Three: A Bigger Picture

Continue to picture this scene in Capernaum. The news of Jesus’ healing has spread, and now ailing travelers in the region are streaming into town. Swarms are heading toward Simon’s house. His wife and mother-in-law draw water at the well for the thirsty travelers, as Simon, Andrew, James, and John look forward to what the day will bring. But there is a problem.

Mark tells us that “early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed” (1:35). Jesus left town, and so far he hasn’t returned. The disciples are mystified. Where is he? Doesn’t he know what the day holds? Luke tells us, “The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them” (4:42).

The peoples’ expectation is that Jesus will return to Capernaum. But Jesus’ response is not what they predicted. “But he said, ‘I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent’ ” (verse 43).

What? Didn’t Jesus see the good that he had done and how much more healing was needed? Didn’t he realize this was the most vital thing he could do if he wanted word of his ministry to spread? Sick people were streaming in from nearby towns wanting what the people of Capernaum had received—healing. Instead, they felt their last, best hope, had turned his back on them and said, “That’s not what I am here to do.”

Like these people, it’s hard for us to understand why Jesus sometimes heals but sometimes doesn’t. It’s hard for us not to feel disappointed when it feels like Jesus, our only hope, has turned his back on us and walked away. But the truth is that God is focused on a bigger picture. There is something else that is broken in our lives, and there are eternal consequences if it doesn’t get fixed: our relationship with our Creator. God wants to restore our relationship with him more than anything else. Even though he loves us, he will allow us to feel the pain of this world’s unhealed hurts if it results in bringing us closer to him.

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