Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Worth the wait (Luke 7:6)

Now Jesus started on His way with them; and when He was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to Him, "Lord, do not trouble Yourself further, for I am not worthy for You to come under my roof; (Luke 7:6 NASB)

We are retreating a few verses today to catch something we missed the first time though. 

When the centurion first sent the elders to get help for his slave, he sent them to Jesus. Just Jesus. The man with power. The waiting, however, was used to yield a wonderful result. When he sent the second group, his friends, to Jesus, the term of address he used was kyrios, or Lord. 

It is one of the most common terms of address used for Jesus in the New Testament. It is used by servants for their master and can be used to signify respect toward one who owns something, especially a slave for an owner. As he waited, this powerful slave owner had become enslaved by Christ and he acknowledged that by the word he chose to use.  

We live in an instant gratification society. No one likes to wait, and we disparage the waiting. It is not always a sign of inefficiency or lack of caring, however. In this instance, Jesus was already enroute to the servant. What the centurion had requested was underway, and his prayer was in the process of being answered. The waiting, however, provided the time the centurion needed to move from master of many to mastered by the One. 

Waiting can be, perhaps should be, a precious time of growth in our faith and in intimacy with our Lord. When God allows waiting in our lives, especially that hardest of all waiting, the waiting for answered prayer, we must choose to embrace the wait and allow it to have its perfect result in us. 

How patiently are we waiting? Are we enslaved by the Master, willing to wait for His perfect timing to accomplish His perfect result?

Today, pray that we will persevere in waiting and in prayer until the healing we so desire for our loved ones is fully accomplished. 
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Here's the link to last might's post: http://leannahollis.blogspot.com/2014/05/tupelo-tornado-battered-but-blessed.html

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