"Think of It" and "Permit Even This"

There are two stories I read in the Gospel of Luke that have
 intertwined their way into my spirit and I share them with you here.

~~~~Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues and there He saw a lady who was so bent over that she couldn't straighten herself out. Luke describes her malady as 'a spirit of infirmity.' Jesus saw her and called her over to Himself and said, "Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity." He laid His hands on her and immediately, she was made straight and began to glorify God.

The ruler of the synagogue was angry that Jesus healed on the Sabbath and he addressed the crowd, saying, "If you want to be healed, come be healed on any work day, but don't come on the Sabbath."
Jesus, politically incorrect and to the point, said, "Hypocrite! You loose your cattle and lead them to water so they can drink on the Sabbath! Shouldn't this woman, who is a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound-think of it-for eighteen years, be loosed from her bondage on the Sabbath?!"

And when He said these things, all of His enemies were put to shame; and all the multitude rejoiced for all the glorious things done by Him.


~~~~~And the other story~~~ Jesus was wrestling in the garden, praying that the cup the Father had asked Him to drink could somehow in some way be taken from Him. He found His disciples sleeping instead of praying, and as He was speaking to them, a great number of people showed up with torches and ill intents.

Judas, one of His twelve disciples, came up and gave Him a kiss. It was his way of letting others know which man was Jesus. Jesus said to him, "Judas, are you betraying the Son of God with a kiss?"
The disciples were stunned; confused with the events that had awakened them from their slumber. "Should we fight? Should we use our swords?" they asked. One of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.

But Jesus answered and said, "Permit even this."
And He touched that servant's ear and healed him.

 Then Jesus said to the chief priests, captains of the temple, and the elders who had come to Him, "Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs? When I was with you in the temple, you didn't try to take me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness." ~~~~~
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There are times in our lives when Jesus intervenes, and sees our trouble, and calls us to Himself, and says, "Think of it! You've tolerated this long enough. Be set free."

And then there are times in our lives that Jesus helps us face our greatest fear and does not deliver us from trouble, but stays with us through it, and He says of the difficulties in our lives, "Permit even this."

How do we know if He is saying, "Think of it! Be set free!" or "Permit even this" when it comes to situations we face?

I think we can always ask Him.
 The disciples asked what they should do and He answered them
 with those difficult words-"permit even this".

The woman didn't ask.
She just came to the place where He was and He saw her and called her to Himself

Stay in His presence and ask.
Ask and stay in His presence.
 And keep on staying in His presence no matter what His answer is.
And keep on staying in His presence even if He never answers. ~~~~

I read something Richard Foster wrote in his book, "Prayer," that found its way into these two stories in my soul. He says, "We can be assured of this: God, who knows all and sees all, will set all things straight in the end. Even better, He will dry every tear. In the meantime He mysteriously takes our sorrow and uses them to heal the world."

And "With spiritual maturity comes the ability to discern between the trials that are a normal part of living under the cross and the injustices of an evil world that demand correction." ~~~~

I think we often live somewhere in the midst of  the mystery of
God's deliverance and God's permission.

I think the real miracle is when He gives us grace to live
with the 'not knowing.'

Some things we will not know or understand
 until we see Him face to face.
And then, we may no longer care.

"Think of it!"

Can we trust Him?
Can we trust His timing?
Can we trust His silence?

"Permit even this."

~~~~ Luke 13:11-17; 22:47-53-NKJV
~~~~Psalm 131