They brought to Him one who was deaf and spoke with difficulty, and they implored Him to lay His hand on him. 33Jesus took him aside from the crowd, by himself, and put His fingers into his ears, and after spitting, He touched his tongue with the saliva; 34and looking up to heaven with a deep sigh, He said to him, “Ephphatha!” that is, “Be opened!” Mark 7:32-34 NASB
Look at what the crowd is asking of Jesus. They are begging (imploring) Jesus to lay hands on this man so that he is healed of his issues. They are asking for something specific, namely “lay hands on him”. They believed that if Jesus would just lay hands on this man he would be made whole. We know that Jesus is going to heal this man, but notice that Jesus is going to use a completely different means to bring healing to this man. Have you ever asked God to move in a situation in your life but you had an idea in mind of what it should look like? We often raise up a standard in our mind of what it should look like when God answers our prayers, then when He does answer through a different way, we miss it. "Lord, I want you to heal my marriage, and this is what that will look like". "Lord, I want you to restore that broken relationship, and that must look like them coming to me asking for forgiveness." "Lord, I want you to heal my body, and this is the way I want You to do it." We can get so caught up, and even idolize the process of God moving instead of looking and surrendering to the results which are in God's hands. This is why it is important for us to be completely surrendered when we are asking God to act on our behalf. A surrendered heart is a humble heart; a humble heart is a heart that God is drawn to (James 4:6). One of the greatest examples of this is found in a familiar Old Testament story. 1 Kings 19:11-13 says: So He said, “Go forth and stand on the mountain before the LORD.” And behold, the LORD was passing by! And a great and strong wind was rending the mountains and breaking in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 12After the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of a gentle blowing. 13When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. And behold, a voice came to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” A random, great and strong wind passes by the mountains breaking the rocks into pieces. Surely the Lord is in that strong wind! "The LORD was not in the wind." An earthquake, out of nowhere come and shakes the very foundation where Elijah stood. Surely the Lord is in the great earthquake! "The LORD was not in the earthquake." Out of nowhere a burning fire appears. Surely God is in that fire! "The LORD was not in the fire." After all of these amazing, earthshattering events take place, the sound of a gentle blowing passes by Elijah. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. The LORD was in the sound of the gentle blowing breeze that passed Elijah by. Most of us would have settled for the mighty wind, the earthquake, or the burning fire believing that God's presence was in all of those things. But we would have missed out on God Himself. God’s ways are not our ways. He knows your cry and He is not slow to act. But we must be careful that we do not raise up a standard in our feeble, human minds that places God in a box labeled "My Expectations". If we do, we will consistently miss out on seeing God move and dishonor the glory that is due unto His name. Questions to Consider: 1. What are some things that you are currently asking God for in your life? 2. Resting and trusting in God is difficult to do when you are living in a time of chaos. What are some ways that you have learned to rest and trust God in the midst of trials?
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