PrintThere is a huge difference between knowing what God can do and knowing what He will do.
I'm thinking particularly about the diseased man who came to Jesus with a sense of desperation and begged for the intervention of Jesus by way of healing. "If you want to, you can make me well again," he said. (Mark 1:40 NLT). He was a man who was controlled by a contradictory mix of certainty and uncertainty. He knew what Jesus could do. "…..you can make me well again," he said. There was no doubt in his mind about the ability of Jesus to heal him and make him well again. Perhaps he had witnessed other needy people being healed? Perhaps he heard rumours or reports about people being healed and restored to health? He had no doubt about Jesus' ability to heal him.
What he was far less sure about was Jesus' willingness to heal him. "If you want to, you can….." A very interesting mix of certainty and uncertainty.
I've never had leprosy (which was this man's problem) but I do have Parkinson's Disease which is a degenerative disease of the brain and for which there is no known cure. I think my heart can resonate with this leper. I have come to Jesus and, like the leper, I have said Him, ""If you want to, you can make me well again,"
I have no doubt whatsoever that, if He wanted to, Jesus has the ability and power to heal me and make me well again. (Incidentally, the presence of that little word "again" is not lost on me. Restoration to what used to be is implied here).
In my last posting I noted the incredible faith of those three prisoners of war, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego (Daniel 3), and their absolute assurance and faith in what God could do i.e. deliver them from the horrific death that awaited them.
But they also acknowledged the possibility that God may choose not to deliver them. In that case, they would not give up their faith in God. In that situation, God did choose to deliver them. Similarly, the leper had his uncertainty about Jesus' willingness reconciled with his certainty about Jesus' ability. Jesus reached out and touched him and, with the words "I am willing. Be healed!", caused the leprosy to instantly disappear and the man was healed.
When Jesus said, "I am willing", he removed the word "if" from the leper's vocabulary. In that moment he knew that Jesus could heal him (ability) and would heal him (willingness) I'm delighted for the leper. What a mighty miracle he experienced! And I'm delighted for those three prisoners of war,Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. God showed up in an amazing way.
Yet I'm also aware that, although Jesus' ability and power to deliver never abates, His willingness (or, to put it another way, His Will) is a variable. Which brings me to one final example - the life of another New Testament character.
I will have to leave him to my next log book entry.
