By: Lorraine Eastman, Legacy Pastor
Have you ever experienced a time in your life when life feels totally out of your control? Or maybe you’ve waited on God to answer a prayer, and it feels like that answer is never going to come.
This past month I have felt like my life was totally out of control as I spent the better part of two weeks in and out of two different hospitals. I’m home now and trying to get back to work and get my brain functioning again. I still have no answers and am looking forward to the next few months full of tests and specialist appointments searching for those elusive answers. When we go through difficult times, I believe there are so many things we can learn if we simply humble ourselves and ask God to walk through difficult times with us.
There are stories throughout the Bible of waiting on God. You have Abraham and Sarah waiting 25 years before Sarah gave birth at the age of 90. David was anointed king, yet had to wait over 15 years before he was crowned king. Moses spent 40 years in the desert before leading the Israelites out of Egypt, then wandered another 40 years and never entered the promised land. And there are many others.
Let’s look at the story of a woman who distracted Jesus from healing a young girl. Don’t worry—he would eventually perform a miracle and raise that young girl from the dead. We pick up the story in Mark 5:25 (NLT), “A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding.” Can you imagine seeking answers to a problem for over twelve years? That’s a long time to be praying for some sort of answers. What about you? Is there something that you have been praying for and maybe God’s answer has been “not yet”? No matter what it is—physical healing, healing for a relationship, healing for finances, emotional healing, healing in the workplace, healing from an addiction, healing in a family situation, or healing from a hurt, habit, or hangup—continue to pray. God wants us to stay connected and to never stop praying!
When God says “not yet” to our prayers, that’s not a “no.” It simply means it’s time for us to prepare. Those twelve years that this woman suffered, he never left her side, yet he was preparing her. Those weren’t lost years. Had she found Jesus in the first year, she wouldn’t have been prepared when she touched him, and there would have been no healing. God was doing a work in and through her during those twelve years. So the question we have to ask ourselves is: What is the work that God needs to do in us? How does He need to prepare us for when He is ready to say yes? When we sense God nudging us for how we need to prepare, we need to take that next step. If we need to get deeper in the Bible, join a study or get into Central Academy. If you need to do some real healing, consider Celebrate Recovery on Tuesday evenings at 6:30 PM at Central Henderson.
Our God is bigger than any box. Spend some time with God in prayer and make sure that what you’ve been praying for is the right prayer. Sometimes we have the right idea; however, we may be putting God in a box, and our prayer may need to be adjusted. One of my favorite scriptures comes from Acts after Peter and John had been speaking and the people were amazed at how these ordinary men could speak so boldly and were healing, just like Jesus did. They were brought before the Jewish Council and were asked to stop. After being released, these young Christians gathered together and prayed for courage. We’ll pick it up in Acts 4:31 (TPT), “As they prayed the earth shook beneath them, causing the building they were in to tremble. Each one of them was filled with the Holy Spirit, and they proclaimed the word of God with unrestrained boldness.” My hope and prayer is that we can all pray prayers just like that!
Once we have finished our time of preparation, God will call us into a time of prayer. We pick up the story of the woman in Mark 5:27-29 (ESV), “She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment. For she said, ‘If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.’ And immediately the flow of blood dried up and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease.” Having carried the weight of this prayer for so many months or years, we are now able to put it down and move into our calling. We can shake off the dust and move into what God has been preparing us for.
Finally, we put our full faith in Jesus. This story ends with the woman who is full of faith and puts that faith into action. Jesus looks around and senses his healing power has gone from him and realizes that someone has touched him. He looks right at her. She must have been so embarrassed, so afraid. The story continues in Mark 5:34 (ESV), “And he said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.’” Can you imagine the relief she must have felt? The freedom must have been exhilarating. Not only the freedom from the disease, but the spiritual freedom. It’s her faith in Jesus that healed her.
Anytime God takes you through a time of preparation, be thankful. It really is a gift. The woman in our story had twelve years to think back and remember all the times God had provided for her at just the right time. This Thanksgiving, think back over your life, remember the times that God has answered your prayers, and give thanks. Remember the good times. Strengthen your faith and trust in Him. He’s always been there for you, and he always will be. Be thankful for his preparation. Its purpose is to strengthen your faith and trust so you’re ready at just the right time.
My prayer is that during your next time of preparation, just as I have done, you will come to know deep in your hearts that you were made with a plan and for a purpose, that you are a child of God, that you are his favorite, and that he loves you dearly and wants only the best for you. He has called you to be his—to be his disciple. He has great plans for you, and sometimes that means saying “not yet.” Let’s hold onto his promises in Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV), “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future,’”