INSIGHT 46 december 2024 www.goodnewsfl.org Good News • South Florida edition If I'd been born at any other time in human history, I'd be blind right now. Weeks after my first daughter was born, I woke up one morning and couldn’t see anything out of my left eye. I went to the doctor and then to the hospital. Sure enough, they started examining my left eye. They brought in a specialist. Then another. Then a third. You know something’s really wrong when they bring in a third specialist. They looked at me and said, “You have the thinnest retinas we’ve ever seen. Your left one is fully detached. Your right one is about to detach.” At that point, they weren’t sure if there was anything they could do for me, but they scheduled an emergency surgery for the next day. It was an experimental procedure, and for six weeks, I had to stay face-down in recovery. The doctor was so negative. He said, “We’re just trying to save your left eye because your right one is worse, and it will likely detach during these six weeks. We’re hoping to save at least one eye.” Hopelessness After the procedure, I was lying in bed, in the middle of the night, overwhelmed by hopelessness. Lies flooded my mind and heart: You’ll never see your two-weekold daughter again. You’ll never be a missionary. You won’t even be able to provide for your family. Fear gripped my heart. I began crying out to God, weeping: “God, what are you doing? Why has this happened?” My wife woke up and stood near the hospital bed. She began to pray. The Holy Spirit’s response In that moment, the Holy Spirit filled the room in a way I had never experienced before — or since. He took me to three passages of Scripture that night: The first was about Paul on the road to Damascus. He was blind. We know the end of the story, so it’s easy to gloss over, but Paul didn’t know it was only going to last three days. In that moment, he was blind. Jesus said to me, “The prayer Paul prayed is the prayer I want you to pray as you lay here: ‘Lord, what do you want me to do?’” (Acts 9:6). I argued with God: “I’m not Paul on his way to persecute Christians! My wife and I are our way to be missionaries overseas. Look at what I’m doing for You!” And the Lord replied, “I’m not interested in your sacrifice. I’m interested in your obedience.” Then He brought me to Proverbs: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6). He said, “You don’t know what it is to truly trust Me. You’ve trusted in your heritage, your gifts, your talents. I want you to trust in Me — with all your heart.” Finally, He took me to the story of Jesus healing the blind man in stages. Jesus laid His hands on the man’s eyes with spit, and the man said his vision was still blurry. (Mark 8:22-26) Then Jesus touched him again. Why twice? Why the spit? Why the messy middle? The Lord said to me during recovery, “My yes is yes. I am your God. I love you. I will take care of you. Trust Me. I’m going to heal you.” But He was letting me know it wouldn’t happen immediately. What I’ve learned since is that He wanted to show me a glimpse of His glory. He can do anything, and one day, He will bring everything back into order. This reminds me of 2 Corinthians 1:17-22 (NIV): “Was I fickle when I intended to do this? Or do I make my plans in a worldly manner so that in the same breath I say both “Yes, yes” and “No, no”? But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not “Yes” and “No.” For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us — by me and Silas and Timothy — was not “Yes” and “No,” but in him it has always been “Yes.” For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God. Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.” A fickle God? To some of you reading this, if you’re honest with yourselves, God feels fickle. You prayed once, and a miracle happened. You prayed again and it didn’t happen. Is this the same God? I don't understand all of the circumstances and situations of the messy middle. While some of my sight has been restored from numerous operations, my eyes are far from perfect. But I know I have a God who's a miracle-working God, whose ‘yes’ will certainly be kept. The greatest miracle in my life and ministry has been learning what it means to obey the Lord and serve Him with my whole heart. As we reflect on the gift of Jesus and the new year ahead, let’s be quick to say Lord, I need you. I trust you. Even in the messy middle, when things don’t make sense, I will serve you, and I'm all yours, Lord. Rob is President of OneHope, a global ministry committed to catalyzing a movement to engage every child in the world with God's Word. Rob is also Chair of Come Near (He Gets Us.) and a member of the Board of Trustees for the Come and See Foundation (The Chosen). His mission statement in life is to “build young leaders and serve great leaders.” Living in the Messy Middle - Rob Hoskins - OneHope President
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