Isn't it time yet?
Right during service, she had another seizure. After a terrible weekend, after our prayers for relief from this very thing, the seizure still came. There, in the presence of God and His people, the seizure grabbed hold of her, again.
Suffering, again.
Waiting, again.
Questioning, again.
As I prayed for this family, I remembered when my daughter had a seizure right after she had been up at the communion rail, seconds after she had received the blessing of God on her forehead. It seemed more insulting, somehow, that her suffering not only should continue, but continue violently, right there in God's presence.
"Lord, help us," we pray,
and then again the suffering comes, and it seems as if His "No" is loud,
like a punch in the face.
What good is a religion that can't fix this, now?
Isn't it time, yet?
Isn't it time yet?
The apostles asked this question of Jesus after His resurrection. They knew His power. They had seen Him destroy sickness, stop storms, and even defeat death. They'd seen, and they were ready to see nothing but His power and goodness and healing for eternity, starting right that minute.
Isn't it time yet?
Jesus said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." (Acts 1:7-8)
Not yet, children.
The glorious end of all things is near, but it is not yet.
Gather together and receive the Holy Spirit.
Gather together and wait.
Here we gather Lord, and we look to You, and we wait. We gather with our seizures, our arthritis, our cancer. We gather with our depression, our longings, our questions. We have been punched in the face, the gut. We limp into your presence, and you do not heal us, not yet.
It is not for us to know the reason.
Isn't it time yet?
We ache with our question, and yet we know we are not alone. He has sent us a comforter, the Spirit who reveals Christ's continued presence with us here, even in this place of suffering.
It is this Spirit within us that cries out Abba, Father! (Romans 8:15)
Thy kingdom come! (Luke 11:12)
How long, Lord? (Psalm 6, 13, 35, 79, 80, 89, 90, 94, Habakkuk 1:2, Rev 6:10)
Is it time yet?
Like the apostles, we are ready to see nothing but His power and His goodness and His promises fulfilled. But it's not time yet.
Not quite.
May God uphold His aching people.
Come, Lord Jesus. Amen.
We wait in hope for the Lord;
he is our help and our shield.In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name.May your unfailing love be with us, Lord, even as we put our hope in you.
Psalm 33:20-22
Suffering, again.
Waiting, again.
Questioning, again.
As I prayed for this family, I remembered when my daughter had a seizure right after she had been up at the communion rail, seconds after she had received the blessing of God on her forehead. It seemed more insulting, somehow, that her suffering not only should continue, but continue violently, right there in God's presence.
"Lord, help us," we pray,
and then again the suffering comes, and it seems as if His "No" is loud,
like a punch in the face.
What good is a religion that can't fix this, now?
Isn't it time, yet?
Isn't it time yet?
The apostles asked this question of Jesus after His resurrection. They knew His power. They had seen Him destroy sickness, stop storms, and even defeat death. They'd seen, and they were ready to see nothing but His power and goodness and healing for eternity, starting right that minute.
Isn't it time yet?
Jesus said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." (Acts 1:7-8)
Not yet, children.
The glorious end of all things is near, but it is not yet.
Gather together and receive the Holy Spirit.
Gather together and wait.
Here we gather Lord, and we look to You, and we wait. We gather with our seizures, our arthritis, our cancer. We gather with our depression, our longings, our questions. We have been punched in the face, the gut. We limp into your presence, and you do not heal us, not yet.
It is not for us to know the reason.
Isn't it time yet?
We ache with our question, and yet we know we are not alone. He has sent us a comforter, the Spirit who reveals Christ's continued presence with us here, even in this place of suffering.
It is this Spirit within us that cries out Abba, Father! (Romans 8:15)
Thy kingdom come! (Luke 11:12)
How long, Lord? (Psalm 6, 13, 35, 79, 80, 89, 90, 94, Habakkuk 1:2, Rev 6:10)
Is it time yet?
Like the apostles, we are ready to see nothing but His power and His goodness and His promises fulfilled. But it's not time yet.
Not quite.
May God uphold His aching people.
Come, Lord Jesus. Amen.
We wait in hope for the Lord;
he is our help and our shield.In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name.May your unfailing love be with us, Lord, even as we put our hope in you.
Psalm 33:20-22
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