I’ve been thinking a lot lately about John the Baptist, specifically about a question he sent his followers to ask Jesus when they came to John reporting all the miracles the Messiah was doing. “Are you the one who was to come (the Messiah), or should we expect someone else?” (Matthew 11:3, Luke 7:19).

Really? Is this the same man who baptized Jesus and saw the Spirit come down from heaven and rest on Him in the form of a dove? Is this the same man who then said, “I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God” (John 1:32-34)? And the same man who pointed at Jesus the next day and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!’ (John 1:29)?

It’s clear from these statements that John firmly believed Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God. Yet a few chapters later, he’s sending his disciples to ask Jesus if he really is the Messiah? What happened to cause John’s faith to waiver? What changed?

We find the answer in Luke 3:19-20. John, who had faithfully served God and done nothing wrong, is now in prison for rebuking Herod the tetrarch for taking his brother’s wife. Jesus, the one whom John thought to be the all-powerful Son of God, has done nothing to help him. And John, previously filled with faith, is now filled with doubt.

John was not the first nor will he be the last to have his faith shaken in prison, whatever that prison may be. Years ago a friend of ours, suffering with cancer, said, “If I as a human father would do everything in my power to protect my son from pain, why hasn’t God healed me?”  Others say they can’t believe in a God who allows awful things to happen in the world.

 I find Jesus’ answer to John’s question so interesting. First He reminds John of things he already knew: “Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them” (Matthew 11:4-5).  But then comes the word which addresses John’s specific situation: “And blessed is he who is not offended because of me” (Matthew 11:6).

I believe Jesus knew intuitively that John was offended that after all he’d done for God, Jesus would allow him to remain in prison. I believe this offense allowed Satan to sow doubts in John’s mind, in spite of the truth God had revealed to him on sunnier days. Jesus must not really be the Messiah if he would allow something like this to happen to me. Being offended, feeling hurt, angry, or insulted, by something someone has done or said, puts us in a vulnerable condition and provides fertile soil for Satan to plant his seeds.

Being offended because of something God has done or not done puts us in the most vulnerable state of all. God wants us to be honest about our feelings, to express our anger and hurt to Him. But when we begin to nurse our offense, listening to Satan’s suggestions that God doesn’t love us and doesn’t care about us, we place ourselves in serious jeopardy.

None of us know how we will respond to the challenges God allows in our lives. Some of us may say  like Peter, “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will,” only to deny Him three times before the rooster crows. Only God knows how we will respond and only by experiencing the challenges do we discover what’s in our hearts.

It became necessary for John to recognize that Jesus was still the Messiah, the Son of God, even if He didn’t release John from prison,  just as it becomes necessary for us to accept that God is still God even if He doesn’t release us from our suffering, save our marriage, bring home our prodigal, ________________. He is still the God who created us and loved us enough to send His Son to take the punishment for our sins so that we can spend eternity with Him. He is still the One who says, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” He is also still the One who cautions us, “Blessed is he who is not offended because of me.”

            The chorus of a recent song released by Mercy Me says it well: Even If…

Chorus
I know You’re able and I know You can
Save through the fire with Your mighty hand
But even if You don’t
My hope is You alone
I know the sorrow, and I know the hurt
Would all go away if You’d just say the word
But even if You don’t
My hope is You alone

        Mercy Me

*This Flashback Friday blog spoke to me in the midst of our present trial of faith. Our son, Robb, is suffering from esophageal cancer and has been told by Cleveland Clinic that his cancer is so advanced and so aggressive there is nothing more they can do.  Although hundreds of people are praying for him, God hasn’t yet intervened. So what should our response be? Should we be offended or should we say, “I know you’re able to heal our son, but even if you don’t, I will still worship you, I will still serve you, I will still believe in you.”

Personally, I believe there’s nothing Satan hates more than a child of God saying that even if God doesn’t answer his/her prayers as they would like, they will still worship Him. In the first chapter of Job, Satan basically told God the only reason Job served Him was because God protected him and blessed him. He said if God stopped doing that, Job would curse Him to His face.  Job’s response when God allowed Satan to bring calamity upon him?  “Though he [God] slay me, yet will I trust Him.” (Job 13:15)

So when trouble comes, as  it will, let’s not stop asking God to heal, God to rescue, and God to intervene. But let’s also not stop saying, “I know you’re able and I know you can save through the fire with your mighty hand, but even if you don’t, I will remain faithful to you.”