The Gospel of John tells a story about a man from Capernaum who approached Jesus in Cana. “Come heal my son?” the man asked. And Jesus said the boy would be healed, and the man set out for Capernaum. Do you find yourself somewhere between Cana and Capernaum? Like the official, you begged Jesus for help, and like the official, you didn’t receive the answer in the way you wanted. This is the issue of not-yet-answered prayer or the not-answered-in-the-way-I-asked prayer. How should we react?
I’m sorry that the job did not materialize or the cancer chose to metastasize. Life has its share of dark, dank moments. Read the Bible from the table of contents in the front to the maps in the back, and you will not find any promise of a pain-free life on this side of heaven. But you will find this assurance: “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5 NIV). You are never alone.
