God’s Hope for Your Heart from Galatians 4
IN CHRIST, YOUR PAIN HAS A PURPOSE
You know it was because of a bodily ailment that I preached the gospel to you at first, and though my condition was a trial to you, you did not scorn or despise me, but received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus. (Galatians 4:13-14)
Paul was not well in Galatia.
Certainly he must have prayed for healing, but the healing didn’t come right away. Surely he must have tried to rest and recover quickly, but the recovery was not immediate.
Did Jesus fail His servant? Did Paul -this mighty man of God who healed countless others- simply not have enough faith for his own healing?
This same Paul would later be bitten by a poisonous snake, but would not be harmed. He even raised a young man from the dead, yet whatever sickness or ailment he himself had in Galatia, it was so bad that he had to cancel his travel plans. Was he just having an off day, or did God have a far greater blessing in store for His beloved child?
Read again what Paul writes to the churches in the province of Galatia. “It was because of a bodily ailment that I preached the gospel to you first.” Not in spite of, because.
What Paul realized that we sometimes miss is simply this: sometimes God has a greater gift for you than the immediate answer to your prayer. Think of how many hundreds, if not thousands of people were saved because of Paul’s ailment. Think of how many blessings were released to them, and how many heavenly rewards were gained by him because of his unexpected time there.
When you are hurting in the midst of a trial and you can’t figure out why God doesn’t move to answer you right away, take heart! God is working out a deeper blessing for you; you just need eyes to see it. Keep praying and believing God for the deliverance and healing, and as you wait for His perfect timing, be encouraged by this truth.
In Christ, your pain has a purpose.
-Pastor Phillip
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