"Hope deferred makes the heart sick,
Desire realised is the Tree of Life"
Proverbs 13:12
"The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me,
for the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted
and to proclaim that captives will be released
and prisoners will be freed."
Isaiah 61:1
2 When John,(C) who was in prison,(D) heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples 3 to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come,(E) or should we expect someone else?”
4 Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: 5 The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy[b] are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.(F) 6 Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”(G)
Matthew 11:2-6
11 Truly
I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone
greater than John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of
heaven is greater than he.
Matthew 11:11
Isn't it interesting that the greatest profit on planet earth questions wether Jesus was the One. And this after he Baptizes Jesus.
And Jesus opening statement at the start of his ministry is Isaiah 61: "I have come to set prisoners free" And where is John? In prison.
Think about it.
And what does Jesus do? He reminds John of what's been done.
He doesn't take John through a long exegetical explanation of the OT or a theological discussion about the possibilities of God's power and scripture.
He says: The blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.
In other words, "John, look around and see. Be reminded of what you see God doing and take encouragement". No condemnation, no accusation, no "how could you not get it John!".
And yet still, Jesus still wants John to end well. " No one greater than John..."
When I am in a place of darkness, and feeding my heart on the Enemies word, fear, doubt, discouragement, I can't hear or understand my Father's voice. Oh how many times, have I replaced what my Father says about me, for me, toward me, with the Enemies words.
So what should I do? Remind myself of what He's done.
Oh yeah, that time that we fulfilled our $100K commitment to OI and R&B That time I got that word for the birth of our child after 2 miscarriages. That time, He spoke to my innermost heart about my father. That time I got a crazy pay rise when I left my previous job. That time when I got my achilles heal healed,..... That time when all those people at church were healed, that time when Rob was reconciled to his family and they came to Christ.... That time that Jeff and Cath got pregnant at 44.
Then I hear His voice.
Get around other believers and talk about the good things God has done.
Read Psalms or Gospels until praise and gratitude overtake your heart
Recognise the Enemies tactic and cut it off before it grows.
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