A friend sent me this devotion today. Thought it was worth sharing. It reminded me of what Paul said in his letter to the Romans....."For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope." Rom 15:4
Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; say to those with fearful hearts, "Be strong, do not fear; your God will come." Isaiah 35:3-4
Someone wisely said, "God doesn't always lighten our load, sometimes he strengthens our backs." Near the end of John the Baptist's ministry, while he was in prison, he went through a time of apparent weakness and questioning. He sent this message to Jesus, "Are you the coming One, or do we look for another?" (Mt. 11:3)
What was behind John's question? A kind of doubt. Perhaps Jesus was not acting in a way or at a speed that met John's expectations. But Jesus did not rebuke John. Rather, he sent back what must have been a most courage-giving answer. Jesus said:
"...Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me." (Mt. 11:4-6)
What had Jesus done? He had sent John a message from the Book of Isaiah, from which they had both drawn much inspiration. In it Isaiah had spoken of the acts of the Messiah, and what Jesus said was virtually a direct quotation from Isaiah 35. Jesus wasn't lightening John's load but strengthening his back.
This is how Jesus handled a doubting John. He could have used the moment after the messengers left for a sermon at John's expense. Would he not have been justified in saying to the onlooking crowd who had witnessed this entire interchange, "It's a shame about John. I know he's in a tough place, but he's a good example to all of us about what happens when a man doubts. Don't be like him"?
But instead, Jesus' words to the crowd are, "among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist" (v. 11). At John's lowerst moment of doubt, Jesus made a strong observation about his value. Jesus could handle John's doubts. They seemed neither to surprise nor upset him.
Such doubt was never a part of my earlier life. A well-loved child, I had never had problems trusting in anyone in authority over me. Being able to freely trust God was included in that gift. But there came a day during our dark months when I was forced to admit I had a colossal case of doubt. Scripture reading was difficult; praying by myself was a battle. There were hard questions deep down within me that I was afraid to acknowledge and ask.
Unconsciously, I had come to the conclusion that I knew what God would and would not do. But when the unthinkable happened, God would not be confined to my neat little box. His understanding is infinite -- mine is finite. But it took a friend who had known me over twenty years, a friend who had earned the right to say hard things to me, to suggest the possibility of doubt. Once I was able to acknowledge my doubt and raise it to God, as John had done to Jesus, release and peace slowly returned.