Staring at the Bars

Seeing Jesus in the tough times

Are You the coming one? When John the Baptist was in Prison he started to doubt that Jesus was the Messiah. Despite all that he had seen, and even hearing God talk he questioned how could he be? The Messiah would set his people free and would bring God’s kingdom yet here was John his chosen prophet in Prison. It just didn’t add up. Why hadn’t Jesus brought the revolution to open the doors?

‘And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples and said to Him, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?”
Jesus answered and said to them, “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’

Matthew 11:2–5

It’s tempting to be like John and stare at the bars. Yet what Jesus called him to do was to look through them; to see the good things that he was doing. When we are in the same position and trapped by the hardness of this life we can do the same and become fixated on what is happening to us, but Jesus still calls us to look outside — to see his Kingdom and trust him that he has a plan that is destined to win.

When life feels hard we want God to answer our prayers now. To open the door to that new job now, to reveal that marriage partner we’ve longed for now, to take away that troublesome person from our life now, to heal our sick friend now. In Psalm 27 David wanted rid of those who opposed him.

He knew that God would hear him, would lift him up and set his feet on a rock (v5), and that in this season the Lord would teach and lead him (v11). So he determined to put his trust in God’s perfect timing, and so he ends his pleas with this reminder to himself:

“Wait for the LORD; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the LORD.” (v14)

I wouldn’t do it like God does. I wouldn’t use suffering to build faith. I wouldn’t use heartbreak to build hope. But if I try to build a God like I’d do things then I’m just building an idol: ‘God in my image’, and that God has no power, can’t bring peace, can’t give strength and can’t provide hope. So while THE God ‘I AM’ isn’t my ideal he is perfect and his is the only way worth following:

For You are my lamp, O Lord;
The Lord shall enlighten my darkness.
For by You I can run against a troop;
By my God I can leap over a wall.
As for God, His way is perfect;
The word of the Lord is proven;
He is a shield to all who trust in Him.
“For who is God, except the Lord?
And who is a rock, except our God?
God is my strength and power,
And He makes my way perfect.

2 Samuel 22:29–33

John got his freedom but it was when he lost his life. At this point he gained everything. God may not take us out of our situation but he does promise freedom and peace in the moment. Your father in heaven loves you but he has all of eternity to show you how this works out. And the guarantee? All creation will glorify him.

So don’t stare at the bar; look through them; see what God is doing and remember that He is at work and you are part of the plan. He may open the door to your situation or he may leave you in it but His kingdom is coming.