Delay is not Denial
And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up. But when Jesus saw her, he called her to Him and said to her, “Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity.” And he laid his hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God. Luke 13:12-13, NKJ
In the passage above Jesus is speaking in the synagogue and he sees a woman who had an illness caused by a demonic spirit. Scripture says that she had this illness for eighteen years; which means this was not always her condition. When illness comes to attack our body the first thing we do is to try and fix the problem ourselves. But if those home remedies don’t work, and we are not getting better any better, we head to the doctor’s office for diagnosis and ways to heal our body.
We know that the woman in the passage honored God and followed his ways, otherwise she would not have been at the synagogue when Jesus was teaching. Jesus taught in all different synagogues and there was no way for her to know that he was going to be at the place where she would be worshipping. The passage did not say that she asked Jesus to heal her, but he called her to him. I can’t begin to imagine the circumstances and changes that happened in her life when this illness came upon her, but she never gave up on the Lord. Jesus had the perfect timing for her healing.
We know that God can do anything, we know that he hears our prayers. In Daniel 10, we learn that when Daniel prayed and the angels heard his prayer and went immediately to give him the answer but the angel was held up fighting a demon. Many times we have no idea why it seems that God has not answered our prayer requests. We know that he is here and the he is an ever present God. We know that he knows our situation and that he is able to deliver us in whatever situation we are in. So the question becomes what is the hold up?
All through the Bible we have learned that most times there was a waiting period before the request was answered. This waiting period is a process in building our faith. Although that can be frustrating, God has purpose that we do not understand. However, we can be encouraged in the wait that God has heard our request and he has the perfect plan for our lives. He says in scripture that his eyes saw our unformed body and in His book were all written the days that were appointed for us, before any of those days came to pass.
God’s delay is not denial, it is usually just the timing of when we want the answer to our request that is a little off. I love how David teaches us how to wait. He knew he was going to be king over Israel because the prophet of God had anointed him. But at the time the prophet anointed David to be king, the position of King was filled by Saul. Once King Saul understood that David would be king he tried to kill him several times. But David never put his hand out to kill king Saul; even when God put Saul into his hands. David waited fifteen years to become king. He lived in caves and was usually on the run from Saul for many of those years, but he kept his faith in God.
Many of us are holding on to promises that God has placed in our hearts, and we have not seen the manifestation of that promise. I am reminded by what a dear friend said to me, you are not seeing the promise fulfilled because you keep saying I don’t see what God promised manifesting. She said speak the word, I walk by faith. Faith is what brings the manifestation. It is the answer. If we keep speaking what we see we are going to have what we see. Scripture says we walk by faith and not by sight. If you are using your physical sight you will never see the promise fulfilled. Abraham saw his promised fulfilled because he believed God, not because of what he saw with his physical eyes.
Father,
Thank you for the reminder that faith is the only way to the manifestation of the promise you have for us. Thank you for giving each of us a measure of faith to trust you in what you have placed in our hearts. We repent for doubting you because of what we see. We ask for help to stand in the measure of faith that you have placed in each of us. And we thank you for the reminder to walk by faith! In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Key points:
Faith requires a delay.
Waiting with expectations is the action of faith.
You have all the faith you need.
Affirmations: Matthew 10:20; Luke 24:32; Ephesians 6:19, Isaiah 55:11
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