Thursday, September 18, 2008

Ever walked across one of these bridges? As a child, visiting family in Kentucky, I walked across a few from time to time. And most all of them scared me. I didn't know if the bridge was strong enough to hold me and a bunch of my cousins all at the same time. I didn't know what was in the water underneath either and that was a concern. What if we fell in and there were snakes down there? I was accosted, or so it seemed, with all sorts of "what ifs". Sometimes they stopped me from fully enjoying the day, but most of the time, I followed my country cousins, held my breath, and forged ahead on one of our day-long journeys into the hillsides of beautiful Kentucky. I guess I trusted my cousins' knowledge of the land more than I trusted the bridges and the water underneath.

I find much the same going on in my life right now ... only this time I'm trusting the One who created me and the hills and the water. And even though I have 'what-ifs' from time to time, and even though I find myself questioning some things, I know the One who leads me will never lead me astray. I am learning that healing won't happen for all God's people while we walk this earth ... that's just how it is. As Deb & Amrita have pointed out in their comments to my last post, there are reasons for not being healed as we'd like to be, and God is Sovereign and does whatever pleases Him. It's up to me to respect Him for who He is ... to love Him regardless of what goes on with my physical health ... to cherish Him for saving my soul and preparing me for eternity with Him ... to take delight in Him simply because HE IS. He is infinitely wiser than all wise men who've ever lived. He knows the path that I take. He knows my questions and my concerns and my pain and He can be trusted with all of it. He can be trusted because He is Trustworthy. And Kind. And Good. And Merciful. And Mighty. And Dependable. And Awesome. And Lovely. And Peaceable. And so much, much more.

In listening to a teaching CD last night, Pastor John Piper made a comment to this effect: "If Christians would learn to truly delight themselves in the Lord their God, oh, the changes that would bring to this world!" We've been taught that repentance precedes revival and yet Pastor John says that learning to delight in God is the key to revival. Think about that. I think I understand what he meant ... when you delight in someone you desire to please them in any and every way you can ... sin and sinfulness wouldn't enter the picture, would it? Oh that God will open our eyes to see and our ears to hear what His Spirit is saying to the church!

My post on Thursday was born out of pain and searching for truth. I thank Deb & Amrita for writing what they did, their words helped me understand what deep inside I already knew. I have been healed in every way that matters for eternity ... my sin-sick soul has been washed clean by the blood of Christ .. I was dead in trespasses and sin and He picked me up and washed me clean and sat me on the road to heaven and eternity with Him and His people. He walks with me and He's closer than the next breath I take, especially when it's hard to take that next breath. I am to be thankful for the health I have and trust that truly "His grace is sufficient".

I leave you with this truth ... "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him" and I ask this question ... what truly satisfies you?

5 comments:

  1. you shine glory in pain. this is the reflection of christ. i hurt for you and yet in this, you show me the divine. i love you.

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  2. Weezy, you are an inspiration to us all. Yes, there are many questions on healing but Tom's answer is always that the word says "the rain falls on the just and the unjust" Only God knows the answer...I feel he is purifying, you are going through the fire but the end result will be as pure gold...you are precious in the eyes of our Lord...for you praise Him and are taking these as life lessons, growing and using them to be a witness of His mercy and grace.
    Love you Dear friend!

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  3. Hi Louise, I found this very good article about praying about our health.

    Praying about health
    By Jim | Posted in Devotional and Bible |
    In our most recent newsletter we included 7 ways that you can always pray for our ministry. We also have generic prayer request in the Ministry Vision brochure that everyone that gets our newsletter has. One of those requests is for health.

    Now I’ve often wondered if we simply place too much emphasis on health in general. Our health is certainly far better than many people I know. Things could easily be far more serious. But it can be frustrating when you can’t do much in any given day, when there’s so much you would like to do.


    I guess there are really a couple of sides to the issue. First of all, it’s obvious to me that Jesus cared deeply about people that suffered. He spent a lot of His time and energy healing, and the Bible tells us about His compassion (ie Matt 14:14). So does Jesus care when we’re sick? Absolutely. Is it valid to pray to Him for healing? Of course. In fact, prayer for the sick is commanded (Jam 5:14). So a prayer request for our health is certainly appropriate.

    Then again, how high a priority is it? From the standpoint of the world, it’s very important. If you don’t have your health, you don’t have anything. And if you don’t have your health, your productivity goes down. Well, the Christian has a lot in spite of poor health, and often gains a lot as he or she sees God work through pain. It can be a powerful witness to others. The more weak we are, the more people can see God’s power (2Co 12:9). So health is certainly not the most important thing to the Christian. We have the hope of healing; even if it’s not healing at this moment, we know healing will come.

    I guess the thing to do is…
    1. Focus on God - don’t let sickness become a reason to become inward focused
    2. Realize that God can use us no matter what our physical condition
    3. Realize that God has the power to heal, and to do even greater things - beyond the physical

    So if you’re praying, go ahead and pray for our health. But pray also that God would keep us focused on Him, and glorify Himself through us - in sickness or in health, may He be glorified.

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  4. I will be praying for you. Have Faith and God will give you peace.

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