So the Jews answered and said to Him, “What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?” Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” Then the Jews said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?” But He was speaking of the temple of His body. Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said. John 2: 18-21
Sometimes God’s immediately requires a paradigm shift. Jesus was telling His disciples about the true temple of God and that he was going to get crucified and be resurrected. However, the Jews focused on a building.
Some of the things we struggle with require a change of perspective. As long as we are stuck in our way of looking at it, there doesn’t seem to be a way out. If we can take our eyes off of the natural realm, we find that God can change our hearts and deliver us in a moment’s notice.
Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to be made well?” The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me.” Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.” And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked. John 5: 5-9
The man at the pool had been in his condition for a long time, and he didn’t see a way out. In addition, he didn’t think he had anyone to help him with his condition. He saw himself a victim of his circumstances. When Jesus asked him if he wanted to get well, He was calling the man to evaluate his thoughts and his attitude towards getting well. He was re-infusing him with hope!
We cannot forget that Jesus is still in the business of doing miracles that sets people free and changes their lives. On Monday, when I published the first part of this devotional, I was tormented by the past, and it was causing great anxiety in me. Some of those issues were from 30-40 years ago. While I was at the gym that morning, I felt led to pray, and I rebuked and cast out the spirit of abandonment. Within minutes, I felt like a different person. The torment was over, and God had restored peace in my heart. My husband later confirmed that my countenance had completely changed. Just an hour prior, I didn’t even know the way out of those thoughts and emotions. God did what humanly was not possible through logic and passing of time.
We need to begin believing in God’s immediate work and not just rely on our logic. The sooner we surrender ourselves to God’s miraculous power, the sooner we give room for God to move in His way. May the Lord re-infuse you with hope for the work He can do in your life immediately!
