Wherefore Art Thou, Jesus? Part X.

“I waited patiently for the Lord; He turned to me and heard my cry.” Psalm 40:1

In John 12:20-26 we come across some Greeks who are looking to meet with Jesus through Philip and Andrew. Now, I would have expected a response of delight from Jesus: “Why, yes! Let them through! Even as so many of My own people reject Me look at the example here of these Greeks!”

Jesus’ actual response, however, wasn’t quite like that. Instead, it can be summarized like this: “No, they can't see Me, not yet. There will be an opportunity for them but it is not now. Now is the time of My glorification so that when they do come to meet with Me they can find eternal life with Me as well.”

Jesus’ reasoning for His response does, of course, make sense but it still surprised me. After all, isn’t one of the foundational points of the gospel message that we are free to come to Jesus; that He invites us to come to Him, and meet with Him, and He with us?

Why, then, does the way to Jesus sometimes seem closed, even if temporarily, at times?

There are many possible reasons for this. There are many lessons that God might desire for us to learn through this delaying: for example, the lessons of patience, perseverance, the uncovering of some sin, the need for repentance, or just that our times are not always God’s times.

Let me also share with you one more lesson: one that has especial relevance to our current study. You might remember in Part III that when Jesus qualifies His promise that we will find Him when we seek Him with all our hearts Jesus offers us a gracious opportunity in that qualification to show our love, appreciation and thankfulness to Him for who He is and for what He has done for us. Well, here we find something quite similar.

What is it worth to you to meet with Jesus? What would you be willing be sacrifice? Is this something even worth waiting for to you? Is this something that you are prepared to persevere with for however long it may take or do you find yourself giving up if the answer you seek is not given to you quickly?

Those are challenging questions for us to ask ourselves. An opportunity is given to us here to put into action how much we do desire to meet with our Lord – by how long we are willing to wait; and persevere; and keep seeking; and keep trusting… until at last we find.

Look at what it also goes on to say in Psalm 40:1: “He turned to me, and heard my cry.” The great Scottish divine Robert Bruce writes (ever so quaintly) that the doctrine found in this verse, that God does hear our prayers, “is the meetest bit to hold us in continual exercise of patience”.[1]

That is to say, that this truth ought to hold us fast in patient waiting and patient praying. Even when we feel like giving up, or pulling to the side, this verse ought to be used to constrain us and encourage us back into continual patient waiting upon the Lord.

If we know for certain that God has rejected our prayer, we may be inclined to give up. If we are not sure if God is hearing our prayers, then after a period of seemingly no response we may be inclined to give up. But to know that Jesus desires to meet with us also, that He has promised that we will find Him when we seek for Him with all our heart, and that God does hear our prayers ought to encourage, and even constrain, us to keep praying and keep waiting patiently.

In Daniel 9 the angel Gabriel comes to meet with Daniel in response to his praying and explains, “At the beginning of your supplications the command went out, and I have come to tell you, for you are greatly beloved…”

At the very beginning of Daniel’s prayer (and it was a fairly long prayer!) God gave the command for Gabriel to come down to Daniel with an answer to that prayer. God heard Daniel’s prayer. God gave the command immediately. The reason for this was that Daniel was greatly loved by the Lord.

God turns to us and hears our cries because He loves us greatly. This ought to be all the encouragement and motivation we need to wait patiently upon the Lord, to keep praying and keep waiting. God answers our prayers immediately, even if that answer involves a delay before the answer comes to us.

The greatest example of patient waiting upon God is found in Jesus Christ on the cross. Jesus waited with incredible patience and incredible endurance throughout all of His awful, agonizing sufferings, until finally, His prayer was answered, when He cried out in a loud voice, “‘Father, into Your hands I commit My Spirit’. Having said this, He breathed His last” (Luke 23:46).

What is our waiting in comparison with this? Yet how easily we still find it too hard to do and give up. How much you truly desire Jesus will reveal itself in many ways. One of those ways is how long you are willing to patiently wait upon the Lord.

“I will wait for the Lord, who is hiding His face from the descendants of Jacob. I will put my trust in Him.” Isaiah 8:17.

[1] Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David Volume 1, (Massachusetts: Hendrikson Publishers, 2011), p.242.