IF IT SEEMS THAT GOD DOES NOTHING – PART 1 OF 2
Sakkie Parsons
Translated from the Afrikaans Version: As dit lyk of God niks doen nie – Deel 1 van 2
Translator: Lynda Botha
My sole purpose of this letter is to help someone somewhere not to fall into despair or to get a complex because it seems to you that God does not listen to you.
I say again, as I said before:
God always answers His child, and when it seems like God doesn’t do anything, He always does something, even though it seems like He doesn’t do anything.
We read:
MAT 4:12 “When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, He left Judea and returned to Galilee.”
MAT 4:13 “He went first to Nazareth, then left there and moved to Capernaum, beside the Sea of Galilee, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali.”
Who is this John who Jesus apparently just left in prison without doing something about it?
God Himself testifies in His Word about him:
MATTHEW 11:7-13
7 “As John’s disciples were leaving, Jesus began talking about him to the crowds. “What kind of man did you go into the wilderness to see? Was he a weak reed, swayed by every breath of wind?”
8 “Or were you expecting to see a man dressed in expensive clothes? No, people with expensive clothes live in palaces.”
9 “Were you looking for a prophet? Yes and he is more than a prophet.”
10 “John is the man to whom the Scriptures refer when they say, “Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, and he will prepare your way before you.”
11 "I tell you the truth, of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John the Baptist. Yet even the least person in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he is!”
12 “And from the time John the Baptist began preaching until now, the Kingdom of Heaven has been forcefully advancing, and violet people are attacking it.”
13 “For before John came, all the prophets and the law of Moses looked forward to this present time.”
We would now be able to say that it is all good and well to talk about John's greatness and wondrous deeds, but this will not stop his decapitation and it didn’t.
MATTHEW 14:3-10:
3 “For Herod had arrested and imprisoned John as a favour to his wife Herodias (the former wife of Herod’s brother Philip).
4 "John had been telling Herod, “It is against God’s law for you to marry her.”
5 “Herod wanted to kill John, but he was afraid of a riot, because all the people believed John was a prophet.”
6 “But at a birthday party for Herod, Herodias’s daughter performed a dance that greatly pleased him,”
7 “so he promised with a vow to give her anything she wanted.”
8 “At her mother’s urging, the girl said, “I want the head of John the Baptist on a tray!”
9 “Then the king regretted what he had said; but because of the vow he had made in front of his guests, he issued the necessary orders.”
10 “So John was beheaded in the prison,”
Let's just go back a bit, before John was beheaded because I want to show you something important in his history which we need to remember and must live out in our life until the outcome of our circumstances according to God's will is there.
MATTHEW 11:2-6
2 “John the Baptist, who was in prison, heard about all the things the Messiah was doing. So he sent his disciples to ask Jesus,”
3 “Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?”
4 “Jesus told them, “Go back to John and tell him what you have heard and seen –“
5 “Jesus answered them, "Go and tell John what you hear and see –
6 “And he added, “God blesses those who do not fall away because of me.”The Amplified Version states MATTHEW 11:6 as follows:
6 “And blessed (joyful, favoured by God) is he who does not take offense at Me (accepting Me as the Messiah and trusting confidently in My message of salvation).”The Common English Version states MATTHEW 11:6 as follows:
6 “Happy are those who don’t stumble and fall because of Me.”
You see, Jesus knew that even the figuratively greatest man who lived, may also have doubts and therefore He said to John's disciples, that if they're finished telling John everything they saw, they should say to him:
John your God and Saviour says –
Do not take offense or have any doubt because in the end you will have reason to be happy and be blessed about what happened to you.
Then John was beheaded.
How on earth can anyone be happy if something like that happens to you?
Let me show you the way I see it:
If you were able to ask John shortly after he was beheaded:
"John, if you could have your life all over again, would you choose not have them decapitate you and then you rather have a long life with a natural death, maybe while sleeping?”
I think his answer would be something like the following:
"Don’t be silly! Then I would not have arrived in Heaven this soon and also forfeited to welcome Jesus once He finished His work of redemption on earth?!"
I do not know your circumstances, so I am going to use myself as an example:
I do not know why I must go through life blind, but I know Jesus said in His Word:
Blessed am I when I'm not angry with Him. Yes, therefore I will be glad that I’m not!
Therefore, I daily take up my cross and fully take on the day, remembering the words my hero Paul wrote under the guidance of the Holy Spirit – which I have made my motto in life:
ROM 8:28 “We know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them.”
If some days things go a little rough, stand still for a moment and spiritually turn around and resist satan:
"In the name of Jesus Christ, go away from me Satan, as I'm on my way to heaven!"
Pick up your cross again and say to yourself:
HEBREWS 12:1-3
1 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.”
2 “We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the Champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting Him, He endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now He is seated in the place of honour beside god’s throne.”
3 “Think of all the hostility He endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up.”
Greetings,
Sakkie