Luke 7:19

New International Version

[John] sent them to the Lord to ask, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”

For Meditation

One moment, we were flying on cloud nine. Everything was going well, and we expected the best for the future. But wait a minute. Something does not check out. The indicators are not showing anymore. Conditions have changed, and we cannot identify what we formally swore to again.

Am I on the right path? Do I still live with the same person who joyfully carried me across the threshold a few years ago, or is it another Laban Trick—a Leah for Rachel deceit?

God ordained John the Baptizer to announce the coming of Jesus and identify Him as the Lamb of God (John 1:29, 36). He had seen the sign of identification when he baptized Jesus (Luke 3:22). Jesus is the Holy One of Israel, the Son of God. Everything was going well, but now, John is in prison, and the man whose mission was to proclaim liberty to prisoners does not even care to visit or get him out (4:18). After all, John was suffering for speaking the truth, so why had Jesus abandoned him? Had Jesus fooled him?

Doubt is a mind-meddler. When it assails, things appear to us in multiple shades. Reality isn’t that firm anymore, and truth becomes uncertain. “What if” becomes a nagging question that robs us of our confidence.

We thank God for His mercy that holds us together at such times until He reveals His glory in strange ways. His responses to our doubts break forth in His acts of kindness and the outpouring of His grace on other people. He tells us to listen to their testimonies to firm our faith (Luke 7:22). God reveals His glory in them to dispel our darkness, so we can see well and walk with confidence again.

The ways of the Lord are beyond tracing out. Therefore, let us ensure we do not fall away because we doubt His interest and concern for us (23). Jesus says it’s a blessing if our faith holds, for everything He has revealed about Himself is the truth.