There are times in our life that we say God is not listening to my prayer. Sometimes we are in a depressed situation or we are in trouble. We think to ourselves that God does not care about us. But brothers and sister, always believe that God’s timing is always perfect.
God is never late. He always has a plan for us. As He said in Jeremiah 29:11-13: “I alone know the plans I have for you, plans to bring you prosperity and not disaster, plans to bring about the future you hope for.Then you will call to me. You will come and pray to me, and I will answer you. You will seek me, and you will find me because you will seek me with all your heart.” Bro. Ping reiterated the importance of the last words of the scripture– “because you will seek me with all your heart”. This is required for us– to seek God.
Bro. Ping’s gospel is rooted from Mark 5 25-34, which tells the story of a woman who was suffering and bleeding for twelve years. He said that this woman focused her life seeking for remedy or healing from her sickness. She fought for her life. She spent her money just to find a cure for her sickness, but found no cure. This story brought about an anecdote Bro. Ping remembered when he arrived from the island of Tinian to Saipan. He, too, was facing trials of his own. He was struggling and didn’t have any resources or money to spend. He was in deep need of healing. But this trying time did not stop him from continuing to serve God and believing that God is a great provider. He believed that the trial he was facing would lead to the strengthening of his faith. He also believed that without trial we cannot respond to the call of God, as stated in the book of Jeremiah. Seeking God is the requirement. If you are facing problems and you think that there are no solutions, don’t focus on the problem. Focus on God alone.
Ecclesiastes 3:2-4 says, “A time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance.” There are many ups and downs in our life that we will experience. It will always be a part of our life. We have to remember that when we face trying times, it is God preparing us to be strong in faith. God went down from heaven 2000 years ago, through Jesus Christ. Through Jesus’ teaching we learn about God’s word and about God’s plan for us. As what is said in John10:10, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” It doesn’t mean that when you have lots of money you are already happy. There a lot of people who are millionaires but many are depressed. There are families that do not have so much money, yet they are happy, satisfied and have a joyful heart. Whether we are rich or poor, our life in this world is just temporary, and our life will end. We must be prepared and live life with God on our side. We need to pray for one another. Bro. Ping asked the audience, “who wants to have a joyful life?” And everyone cheered.
Bro. Ping reminds us about the scripture of Matthew 11:28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” He said that the woman in the gospel who experienced twelve years of bleeding experienced so much suffering, so much heart ache, so much stress, anxiety and depression. She worked all her life to earn money to finance her sickness. The woman heard about Jesus– the healer of the sick. She sought for Jesus, and when she found him, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” This is what God wants us to do– to seek Him and have faith that, in Him, all that we need will be given unto us.
Matthew 6:33 says, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Gods want us to seek him and to know him. He wants us to learn about the good news of the word of God. The gospel of Romans 10:17 reminds us that healing is coming from hearing, hearing the words of God. Prayer connects us to God, but we also need to listen and read the words of God.
In the gospel, this woman suffered for 12 years. She did not stop looking for a solution to her sickness. She believed that she can find a solution to her problem. She waited and she believed that God works always on His perfect time. Bro. Ping urges us to believe in God’s perfect timomg and to continue to pray through any trials or problems we may be facing. God wants us to be dependent on him and rely on his mercy and grace– just the same as the bleeding woman who relied and gave all her faith and herself to God. In God’s perfect timing, she found the solution to her problem. She believe that this is the right timing for her to be healed. And so God healed her and ended her suffering.
There is a Tagalog song that reminds us that when we are in the middle of all this suffering, always remember that God works in His perfect time. The lyrics goes says, “Ang isipin moy may bukas pa na mayroon saya. Kabikuan ay hindi hadlang upang maglingkod ka. Huwag kang iiwas pag nabibigo, dapat nga ay lumabam ka. Ang kailangan moy tibay ng loob kung mayroon pag subok man. Ang liwanag ay hindi magtatagal at muling mamamasdan. Ang ikot ng mundo ay pighatit kasawian. Ang liwanag ay makakamtan. Bastat maghintay ka lamang.”
We are the sons and daughters of God. We must remember that there will always be tomorrow that will bring us joy. Failure is not a hindrance to serve. Do not retreat when you face tribulations, we must endure and have faith. What we need is strong faith to surpass all these trials. We must believe that we will see light in all the darkness of our life. This world will fail us, but believe that God will always work in his prefect time. Bastat maghintay ka lamang. Just you wait.
El Shaddai prayer partners welcome all those who want to experience the joy of worshipping God in Spirit and in truth at San Antonio Parish every Sunday at 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM which immediately followed by Eucharistic celebration.
Put God first. To God be the Glory.
