Hugs From Heaven

And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples and said to Him, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?” Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.” —Matthew 11:2-6 (NKJV)The verses from Matthew above are so simple and yet contain a loaded question from John the Baptist to Jesus: “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?” That was a surprising question from the one who spent his whole life preparing the way for the Messiah! It was the reason John was born, and now here he sat in prison, useless and taking up space in a very bad place and about to lose his head. John had heard about all the amazing things Jesus was doing. If He truly was the Messiah, if He could make miracles happen, if He cared, why was John, Christ’s main man, sitting here in this disgusting, dark prison cell?

The man who had pointed everyone else to “ … The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29b) now … could not point, could not teach, could not comfort, could not even encourage. He had staked his life on Jesus, and now his severe distress brought doubts. Had he gotten it all wrong?

How easy it is to feel the presence of God and be confident in Him when we’re immersed in life’s pleasantries. Why does God seem so far away when we’re just plain going through it, and the “it” doesn’t seem to end? It’s a whole lot harder to feel His presence when we’re stuck in the mud and unexpected outcomes are clearly not in our favor. Like John, we need some kind of sign to reassure us.

What do we do, and where do we go in those times? We follow John’s example. He went right to the source. He sent a couple of his disciples to go and ask Jesus directly.

What did Jesus do? He told them to go back and tell John about all they had seen and heard: The blind see, the lame walk, the deaf hear, the sick are healed, dead people live, and the gospel is preached.

Wait! John had already heard about these things, and they only brought him questions and doubts. Why would hearing about them again make a difference? Because Jesus gave him a new perspective. Scripture had promised a Messiah, and John had been created and commissioned to prepare the way for Him. He had even said about Jesus: “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30 NKJV). Jesus’ words reassured John that He was carrying out the ministry for which John had prepared the way. Jesus hadn’t let John down, hadn’t abandoned him. Jesus had been busy keeping His Word. When Jesus speaks the Word to us directly, personally, it makes all the difference.

Then Jesus said something else. “Blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.” There it was! John’s Hug From Heaven. People were offended by the things Jesus was saying. And John could also choose to be angry and slighted by Jesus because of his dire circumstances. But Jesus said choose not to be offended, and you will be blessed.

Jesus’ Hugs From Heaven come in many forms. Through His Word spoken at just the right time. Through the fellowship of other believers. Through a rescue out of a difficulty by divine, supernatural strength, sometimes while keeping us in those circumstances. Through little things—sending a kitten to a mom and dad who’ve just lost a baby; a heart showing up on a friend’s steamed bathroom wall just as she cried out to God for her adult child; a well-timed rainbow appearing over the hospital where a wife just left her husband. Hugs From Heaven are everywhere. Be watchful for them.

It takes new perspective to have the spiritual strength to say in the middle of struggling, “This may be tough, but I’m good. I trust God. He knows what He is doing. I won’t be offended.” In our sufferings, God has not left us. He is very present. As Ruth, a dear sister in Christ, says: “God is before us, behind us, beside us, above us, below us, all around us, in us, and He is for us.”

Praise God! I love You, Lord!

“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13 NKJV).  Amen.

In Him,
Donna Perkins

Sweet Selah Ministries

Vision
To inspire a movement away from the belief that “busy is better”
and toward the truth of God’s Word that stillness and knowing
Him matter most—and will be reflected in more effective work and service

 Mission
To offer biblical resources and retreats that help women pause (Selah)
and love God more deeply as they know Him more intimately (Sweet)

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