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Sometimes, God gives us what we need, not what we want.

In Series 3 of The Chosen, Jesus encounters a disciple called Little James, who is depicted as disabled. James wants Jesus to heal him before He goes on a mission to heal others. Jesus tells him that He could heal him on the spot, but He has something different in mind for him.

In the Bible, James the Less is never shown to be disabled. Still, the enactment illustrates a scriptural truth: God, in His sovereign foreknowledge, sometimes says no to give us something better. In relation to James’ situation, the reason given was that a disabled man praying for the healing of another would significantly impact the kingdom of God.

I believe God heals—and I have seen many healings—but I have also fasted and prayed fervently for others whom God did not heal. In the cases where the sickness was unto death, it can be heartbreaking to family and friends. Nonetheless, God can be after something higher than the miracle we seek.

I have been in churches where people come in seeking a miracle, and God does not grant them their request. They tend to lose interest in church activities, and we often never see them again. They obliviously were seeking the gift rather than the giver.

When Jesus’ disciples returned from a successful missionary journey, they rejoiced that even demons were subject to them in Christ’s name. Jesus’ retort, however, was, “But don’t rejoice because evil spirits obey you; rejoice because your names are registered in heaven” (Luke 10:20 NLT).

No matter what you receive or don’t receive from God's hand, rejoice that your name is written in heaven. You will never see a greater miracle than the salvation of a soul.

(Photo courtesy of pixabay and Greyerbaby.)