Tom Barnard

“I call to God, and the Lord saves me. Evening, morning and noon

I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice. He ransoms me unharmed

from the battle waged against me, even though many oppose me.”

Psalm 55:16-18 (NIV)

“When it comes to healing our spiritual condition, we don’t have a chance.

We might as well be told to pole-vault the moon. We don’t have what it takes to be healed.

Our only hope is that God will do for us what he did for the man at Bethesda—

that he will step out of the temple and step into our ward of hurt and helplessness.

Which is exactly what he has done.”

Max Lucado

Why is it that we think in the future tense when it comes to God rescuing us from our hurts? Why is it that we don’t have enough faith to believe that it is a done deal? Why do we think God wants us to wait until we die to receive his healing touch? Why do we let “impossible” to be part of our vocabulary? The Bible doesn’t. God doesn’t. He sees the “end” from the very “beginning.” It’s all one landscape to him. Then…now. It’s all one. Done. Finished. Does God want us to moan and groan all the way to heaven’s gate? Does he want us to grovel in despair until some doctor declares us dead? Does he want us to lose every battle until we die? I don’t think so. He said to the man at the Bethesda pool, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” And John said, “At once the man was cured.” Not tomorrow. Not next week. Not next year. Not at death. Now! Today! The guy didn’t even know the name of the Healer…until someone told him.

Heavenly Father: I want to be a “now” kind of person. I want to call on your Name and know that you hear my voice. Another “voice” tells me it is impossible. That “voice” says you are too busy to listen. That “voice” reminds me that I don’t deserve God’s grace. But my “inner voice” tells me otherwise. That “voice” echoes the words of the psalmist, “He ransoms me unharmed.” Thank you for that promise. I praise you now for the assurance that you hear and answer my prayers when I call out to you for help. Hallelujah! Amen.

The Max Lucado quote is from his devotional book, God’s Promises for You (Thomas Nelson, Nashville, 2006), page 137.