Faithbase

Ashes to Beauty, Day 9. The Beings, or the Background. Jesus continues to heal with his spit today. Yeah, you heard that right. The Verse, Mark Chapter 8, Verses 22-25. They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man's eyes and put his hands on them, Jesus asked, Do you see anything? He looked up and said, I see people. They look like trees walking around. Once more, Jesus put his hands on the man's eyes. Then his eyes were opened. His sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. The Scheme. What does this mean to me, and how can I apply it to my life today? For nine days now, we have been reading about Jesus performing miracles, healing people from all sorts of physical ailments, and I have been amazed at the messages Jesus has laid on my heart about the ways he can heal me right where I'm at today. One of the biggest lessons I've come to learn over the past few years is that I have to be willing to let Jesus act, and faithfully wait in expectation. I have to fully believe that he is at work even when I can't see it. But admittedly, that's not easy, especially since we now live in the age of instant gratification. We're not used to waiting on very much. Because we're used to instant yeses, I immediately noticed that the healing didn't work the first time in today's story. Y'all, sometimes it just takes time. Jesus was obviously at work healing this man, but his eyes needed a little more time, a little more help. The problem was not in Jesus' ability to heal, but the prayer was really big. It was going to take a minute. We never have the ability to fully understand the thousands of factors surrounding the prayer request we ask for. We have no way of comprehending the magnitude of health issues Jesus was miraculously healing in this man's eyes. This may be a little bit of a stretch, but stick with me for a minute. Let's say we found this dream job and we desperately began praying it's going to work out. To us, it seems simple. Jesus, I really, really want that exact job. However, what we don't know is that the other applicant also applying for that job, well, they need this job in order to finally receive insurance to cover their child's medical treatments. This job that we deem to be exactly what we need is actually this other person's answer to prayer, not ours. Then receiving the phone call that the job was given to someone else, it's devastating. You're discouraged, angry, and begin to lose faith in God. But wait, Jesus is still at work. While you're on the phone learning you didn't get the job you wanted or thought you wanted, across town, there's another company starting the process of creating a job that is even better suited for you. Jesus is constantly at work, even when we are blind to all of the circumstances surrounding those prayers. Remember, he always knows what is best for us in the long run. Trust him today. Ask him to give you peace in the waiting and to open your eyes to his will. Pay attention and you just may be able to realize that what you thought you wanted isn't what you need after all. He has something far greater in mind.