“Are you the one who is to come,
or should we look for another?”
How do we recognize Jesus when he comes?
“Go and tell John what you hear and see:
the blind regain their sight,
the lame walk,
lepers are cleansed,
the deaf hear,
the dead are raised,
and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.
And blessed is the one who takes no offense at me.”
We know that we can be too fixated on miracles. We know we can't just turn on the TV, try to figure out how the most compelling faith healer is, and the follow him. Yet the LORD does indeed bring restoration. He brings healings of the mind, body, and soul.
The desert and the parched land will exult;
the steppe will rejoice and bloom.
They will bloom with abundant flowers,
and rejoice with joyful song.
He does reveal himself be the transformation he brings to lives and situations. It is more than the mere events themselves that prove he is the one behind them. It is the fruit of the Spirit that he always leaves in his wake when he intervenes. It is the love, joy, and peace of the Spirit that we should seek to find.
Those whom the LORD has ransomed will return
and enter Zion singing,
crowned with everlasting joy;
they will meet with joy and gladness,
sorrow and mourning will flee.
Jesus is coming. May we be content with nothing less than him.
See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth,
being patient with it
until it receives the early and the late rains.
You too must be patient.
Make your hearts firm,
because the coming of the Lord is at hand.
Only in the rains the LORD brings is true joy found. If we seek after miracles and special effects we might find other things that hold our interest for a time. But we find nothing else that truly transforms us. True joy is found nowhere else.
The fatherless and the widow he sustains,
but the way of the wicked he thwarts.
The LORD shall reign forever;
your God, O Zion, through all generations.
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