A few weeks ago, someone asked me, \u201cWhy does God heal some people of cancer, but He allows others to die of the same disease?\u201d After some thought, I was able to draw on my Bible college training to give him a scholarly answer: \u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many Christians seem to know the answer. They have told me. \u201cIt is a lack of faith.\u201d \u201cIt is a lack of prayer.\u201d \u201cIt is a lack of revival fervor.\u201d \u201cIt is a lack of \u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maybe. But I don\u2019t know. I don\u2019t know why Daniel was delivered from the lion\u2019s den, while Isaiah (a man equally committed to God) was killed by Manasseh. I don\u2019t know why Peter was delivered from Herod\u2019s prison cell while James (a disciple as close to Jesus as Peter) was killed by Herod. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I don\u2019t know. Not a very helpful answer! But two Old Testament stories give me peace when I don\u2019t understand God\u2019s ways. Two stories that take place in Dothan, the city of \u201ctwo wells.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In both cases, a man of God was in trouble. In both cases, the man of God prayed for deliverance. But there, the similarities end. The outcome of the two prayers was very different.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From early childhood, Joseph is his father’s favorite. Jacob gives Joseph the most attention. Jacob gives Joseph the best of everything. Jacob gives Joseph a beautiful robe.\u00a0You can imagine the jealousy of Joseph\u2019s brothers. There are no warm fuzzy feelings in this family. Thanksgiving dinner is not a happy celebration!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One day, Jacob sends the teenage Joseph to check on his brothers, who are caring for the sheep near Dothan.\u00a0 This is their chance for revenge. They throw him into a pit. I imagine Joseph crying out to God from the pit, \u201cGod, please deliver me!\u201d\u00a0 No answer. When some Midianite traders pass by, they see an opportunity to make a few bucks. They sell their brother, knowing full well that they are condemning him to a life of slavery. I imagine Joseph\u2019s prayer as he trudges along the road to Egypt: \u201cGod, what are you doing? Please deliver me!\u201d\u00a0 No answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Egypt, Joseph is sold to Potiphar. When Potiphar\u2019s wife accuses him of rape, Joseph is thrown in prison for a crime he didn\u2019t commit. Again, I imagine his prayer: \u201cGod, you promised my great-grandfather that you would bless us. To be honest, this prison cell is a lousy blessing! You gave me a dream of power and authority. What are you doing?\u201d No answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yes, Joseph\u2019s prayers are eventually answered. Yes, Joseph will later testify, \u201cAs for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today<\/em>\u201d (Gen 50:20). But there are more than two decades between Joseph\u2019s prayer in Dothan and God\u2019s eventual answer. Two decades of pain and disappointment. Two decades of asking, \u201cWhy?\u201d A man of God prays \u2013 and the answer is decades in coming. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Nine hundred years later. Elisha and his servant are in the town of Dothan. The king of Syria has besieged the town. Elisha\u2019s servant is scared, \u201cWe\u2019re gonna die!!\u201d Or to use the biblical wording, \u201cAlas, my master! What shall we do?<\/em>\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Elisha answers, \u201cDo not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them<\/em>.\u201d In response to his servant\u2019s dubious look, Elisha prays, \u201cO Lord, please open his eyes that he may see<\/em>.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n And what is the result of Elisha\u2019s prayer? Not two decades of delay, but an immediate answer. God \u201copened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n One man prays \u2013 and receives immediate deliverance. Another man prays \u2013 and waits decades for an answer. Why? Commentators have suggested good reasons for the different responses. Tim Keller explains that their needs were different. Joseph needed the experience in Egypt to shape his character; Elisha needed immediate deliverance from an enemy army. Other commentators observe God\u2019s plan to save the children of Israel from famine through Joseph.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Honestly, I don\u2019t know why <\/em>God responded as He did. But this is the practical lesson these two stories teach me: I must trust God even when I don\u2019t understand what He is doing.<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The reasons for God\u2019s actions may be evident in hindsight, but I may not see those reasons anytime soon. God had a plan for Joseph, but Joseph could not see that plan from his prison cell.\u00a0 Like Joseph, I may not see God\u2019s plan when I\u2019m confused by life\u2019s circumstances.\u00a0But when I cannot understand God\u2019s plan, I can trust Him. Why? Because I know that God is good, even when life\u2019s circumstances are bad. <\/em>The prayers at Dothan teach me that I can trust God even when I must say, \u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A few weeks ago, someone asked me, \u201cWhy does God heal some people of cancer, but He allows others to die of the same disease?\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":16090,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16087","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-46","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shepherdsglobal.org\/zh-hans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16087","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shepherdsglobal.org\/zh-hans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shepherdsglobal.org\/zh-hans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shepherdsglobal.org\/zh-hans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shepherdsglobal.org\/zh-hans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16087"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/shepherdsglobal.org\/zh-hans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16087\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16091,"href":"https:\/\/shepherdsglobal.org\/zh-hans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16087\/revisions\/16091"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shepherdsglobal.org\/zh-hans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16090"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shepherdsglobal.org\/zh-hans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16087"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shepherdsglobal.org\/zh-hans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16087"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shepherdsglobal.org\/zh-hans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16087"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Exhibit B: A Man of God Prays \u2013 and Sees an Immediate Answer (2 Kings 6)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n