Everything Well

Everything Well
Words of Faith 1-2-2024
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2023
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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Mark 7
[31] Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis. [32] There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged him to place his hand on the man.
[33] After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man's ears. Then he spit and touched the man's tongue. [34] He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh, said to him, "Ephphatha!" (which means, "Be opened!"). [35] At this, the man's ears were opened, his tongue was loosened, and he began to speak plainly.

[36] Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it. [37] People were overwhelmed with amazement. "He has done everything well," they said. "He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak."

Just as we do not always understand the conversations we overhear between God and another person or the surgical dealings of our Lord upon a soul, we do not always understand His ways, methods, or timings of healing.
As we read the Gospels, we discover that Jesus dealt with people in various ways. Sometimes Jesus healed from a distance, saying, "Because of your faith, it is done just as you have said!" Other times, Jesus anointed with oil and prayed. Sometimes, He said that demons come out only with prayer and fasting. Other times, Jesus spat upon the ground and made mud for the eyes of the blind. Or, as we see here, Jesus sometimes put His fingers into the ears of the deaf, looked to heaven with a sigh, and called out: Be opened!
Can you imagine if the first words you heard in years, or maybe in your life, were the Words of Jesus crying out on your behalf to the Father-- Be opened! I can only imagine that it is a voice one would never forget.
But why this method or that? Well, certainly, His ways are not our ways, and His thoughts are not our thoughts. But hear this affirmation for today-- "He has done everything well!"
That statement is sometimes difficult to utter, but it is always true. Jesus never fails. Love never fails. He has done everything well. Even when He does not do things in our timing or by the method of our choosing, He has done everything well. Remember that. He has done everything well in the most joyous moments and in the darkest of our days.
He makes the deaf to hear. This was not a "spiritual healing," even though it indeed was very spiritual in its depth. This was a real healing of real deafness. The opening of our spiritual ears may be just as important. For us, he will sigh before God on our behalf and shout, "Be opened!" to the deaf ears of our spirit. If we ask, He gives us the ears to hear Him. He also gives us the ears to hear one another as never before. He gives us the ears to hear the hurt and joy of the people around us. Be opened! He has done everything well!
Jesus also made the mute to speak. Where there were no words, He gave His words and His Word. "Be opened!" To this day, He causes the spiritual stammerer to provide witness and the tongue-tied to preach. He gives us the words to say when we are persecuted for our faith. He gives us the words to say when we are called upon to provide a reason for the hope that is in us. He has done everything well!

Lord, you have done everything well! I do not understand Your ways, but You have done everything well. Open my ears to hear You and those around me. Open my mouth to Your glory with words that honor You. In Jesus' name, Amen.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2023
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2023 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.