If we really understood how God works then I suppose we would have the mind of God. As I recall there was a woman in Genesis who desired the same thing.
During my recent illness I have come to understand that God’s working is not always what I would like or desire. I want instant healing. I want to be pain free. I want my anxiety and depression to be lifted.
Sometimes, He does His healing in stages and sometimes instantly. Sometimes He simply lets me wait it out. But yet I can see one way where God is working.
He sends me encouragement through friends.
Along with many prayers for my healing I have received lovely cards. Each one carries a different message. But there was one card that particularly touched me. I am going to quote it………perhaps it will touch your spirit as it did mine.
“I know that He lives…for I saw Him today in the hand that was offered to me on my way…..In the warmth of a smile that was offered to cheer me…..In the touch of a friend who took time just to hear me.
I heard His voice in the words of support whispered to me when my hope had run short.
Yes, I know that He lives for I see how He sends His love every day… in the caring of friends.”
At some point in our lives we face despondency, depression, trials, and temptations. Some of us have more than our share, while others, sail through life with seemly little to worry about. At least it appears to us that way.
I envy those, whose faith is so strong, that no calamity seems too much for them. They are so secure in faith, and that God is in control, that despite all trials they can honestly say along with the apostle Paul, (Romans 8:28) “And we know that for those who love God all things worktogether for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
Remember the story of the three young men thrown in the fiery furnace because they refused to bow down to the statue of Nebuchadnezzar? (Daniel 3:1) They truly faced trial by fire. God allowed the trial to occur. He allowed the king to throw them into the fire………but He also provided their escape from harm.
Daniel 3:17-18…If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”
Perhaps that’s what He has planned for us as well. He allows these trials by fire.
Will they strengthen your faith and mine? Can we survive the trials which seemingly will consume us?
Many miracles of the Lord involved healings of demon possession. Mary Magdalene ((Luke 8:2) the demon possessed boy (Matt 17:18) and many others.
Did demons/evil spirits actually control the minds of these people? Were these evil spirits just a product of the 1st century, perhaps to show how the Lord was able to heal and comfort those in distress?
Today, we might not call them demons but I can vouch for the hopelessness of mental depression and anxiety.
Having survived a recent knee surgery, I am healing nicely. The physical therapy is painful and lengthy. I need to do it twice a day in order to stretch the muscles and ligaments in my knee. But the real problem with my recovery has been the terrible trauma of depression and anxiety, common after surgery. Mine is manifested in extreme nausea.
I am now on the mend………thanks to many praying friends and medication,
It is so simple to say. “Think positively; count your blessings; just get over it; focus on something else.” I said the same before this hit me. I now have a new empathy for mental illness. Hopelessness and despair are the product of such an illness.
No wonder there are so many miracles of these healings in scripture. The Lord was the healer and He still is.
God has given us special help. Some are healed instantly, some gradually, and some through the gift of medicine.
When sin entered the world, what follows is death and suffering. But hope is coming.
And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. (Rev 21:4)
I wonder how many of us really believe that Genesis is just a cute kids’ story. Not really fact at all. The book itself really doesn’t address social issues of the day, or does it? Is God our creator or is He merely the “overseer” of millions of years of death and decay to bring forth man in His image?
Our world faces enormous problems……violence, war, crime, pornography, economic collapse and natural disasters. The family structure itself is under attack. We are witnessing a general decline in Christian values worldwide. Our own country, which was founded on Christian principles, is rapidly losing its Christian base. We are becoming a pagan nation. How can this be?
I believe that without God as the Caring Creator, than our system of values has no moral basis. The social issues we face today, are symptomatic of an underlying root cause…..the loss of Biblical authority stemming from attacks on the book of Genesis. If Genesis isn’t true then perhaps none of the Bible is true. Christian values only make sense in the light of history recorded in Genesis.
The sanctity of life, of marriage, human freedom, laws and justice, all have their origins in the historical understanding of Genesis.
If we are ever going to see America turn back to God, we must faithfully teach and defend the Bible….starting with the creation account in Genesis.
So God doesn’t seem to be answering your persistent prayer. It just isn’t working out. Perhaps you are thinking…. is some special sin in my life that prevents His answer? Or perhaps God is just capricious. He is sitting on His big white throne passing judgments on who gets help and who doesn’t.
I also have doubts when I have prayed for a special answer and there is no answer. My fellow Christians try to comfort me, but can they really understand?
There are verses I read over and over again. You know them. ”If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it. (John 14:14) or “Give attention to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to you do I pray. (Psalm 5:2)
Life isn’t always fair and just. Just read the paper. Look at your own circumstances.
“But He (God) said to me, My grace (My favor and loving-kindness and mercy) is enough for you [sufficient against any danger and enables you to bear the trouble. For My strength and power are made perfect (fulfilled and completed) and show themselves most effective in [your] weakness. .(2 Cor. 12:9)
No, your prayers and mine aren’t always answered in the positive. Butit’s the negatives in life that bring us to depend on Him.
If God doesn’t answer in the way we ask him to intervene, it is not a sign of His absence or of His indifference.
He knows our needs and we can trust Him, even when His answer to us is “No”.
I have now officially joined the 21st Century. I have found Facebook, or rather Facebook has found me.
“Barbara… You have notifications pending”. Do I really want to read small talk from one person to another?
So where is God in all of this?
Yes, He does have a Facebook page and He is inviting the whole world to read it.
There are many websites promoting God. However, His most authentic Facebook connection is probably sitting on your shelf right now.
Start with Genesis and go from there…..or perhaps Matthew. He speaks to you through these words which have inspired countless millions through the ages. Everyone is invited to be His “friend”.
God isn’t faceless…….He can prove it.
So best to pick up your “hard copy” and start reading.
Thanks for reading my posts. Hope I have given you “food” for thought. When reading my articles make mental notes of your own. I want my blog to serve as a starting point for your own devotions.
I do need a proof reader however.
Excuse the mispellings, twisted syntax and other grammar goofs.
Any volunteers?
But please keep reading and hopefully I will improve with age……..I had better hurry up!
Lay’s potato chips are having a contest. Visit their web site and see if you can come up with a name for a new flavor. Wait….. don’t bother, because I am sure my new chip is the winner.
I must admit to loving potato chips……like peanuts ……..I can’t eat just one.
Can you??
So how do potato chips and the gospel compare?
When studying the four gospels and our Lord’s teachings to His disciples, I try to imagine myself with Him, hanging on His very words. The parables, the stories, the very acts that caused such a disturbance in the 1st century…don’t seem to be so revolutionary to me but then I am a product of my age.
However, who is humble enough, giving enough and loving enough? Who prays enough? Who has the faith of a mustard seed?
Peter said (John 6:68)……..” Lord, to whom should we go…you have the words of life”
I can’t seem to get enough of His words. The more I read of Him and draw upon Him the more I need Him.
Just like those potato chips……..I can’t get enough!
When reading Genesis 1:5….. The Creator of the Universe is creating time. “God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.”
Time was created as a gift for man. However, time was determined not by a clock but by sun and moon, light and darkness. The Hebrews planned their lives around the seasons and the feasts that God prescribed for them. (Lev. 23) Spring meant planting and fall was the harvest. They only had the heavens and stars to give time. The cycle of the moon and planets gave them the months. God gave them a life style. The Sabbath was devoted to worship and rest. Even the oxen got a day off.
But you and I are regulated by clocks, giving us minutes and hours in the day. We feel productive when we accomplish the tasks that we feel must be done. We go to jobs, take kids to school, and the myriad of daily living assignments. After all, we are a time-oriented society.
There are hundreds of books on time management. Seminars give us a sense of organizing time and we feel good about time management.
If time is a gift related to God and God is love, then time is a gift. God isn’t in a hurry. He is above our technology oriented society.
The kingdom …is the ultimate rule of God as coming to mankind. Jesus brought the kingdom in its inception and it will be completed when he returns. Meantime the kingdom of God is within us. So seeking God’s character and to know him implies setting apart a specific time to that end.
This all leads up to “Seeking first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you well.” (Mt 6:33) Perhaps living on God’s time is what is necessary for me.
Our time, like all of God’s gifts is squandered.
Redemption has the literal sense of “buying back”. Let us “buy back” the opportunities that God gives us, liberating time so that we can make good use of it, taking advantage of the occasions which God gives…listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit and see where He leads.
With one out of every seven people in this country receiving food stamps as well as hundreds of food banks and churches who give away food for those who show up to take home a sack…..this story seems to fit into life today. And yet nothing can compare with this “free food”!
Jesus had been teaching his disciples, preparing them for service. He was their rabbi and teacher. According to tradition the disciples would follow their rabbi for a period of three years, leaving families and work and devoting time to study with him.
One occasion when the Lord and his disciples needed a time of rest they took a boat to Lake Galilee. But the crowds heard about their trip and followed on shore. (See Matthew 9; John 6; Mark 6). Jesus had been healing and teaching and the crowds wanted more.
I often wonder if they followed Him for the show, to hear His teaching or see miracles of healing….probably all the above. In any case the Lord loved this motley group of people. He did heal them; he preached to them of the kingdom and spoke as no man had spoken before. He spoke with authority. He healed with compassion. He loved them as only God could love. And what a show they were about to see!!!
So this great crowd of 5000 men….not to mention the wives and kids had followed Him.
It was late in the day. Everyone was tired and hungry. The disciples told the Lord to send the people home or go to the local 7/11 and buy food.
Did they have any food among them? Well, there are five loaves of bread and a couple of salted fish…that won’t handle this crowd.
Fortunately, the disciples had obtained their “food handler’s” license and the fish were declared free of antibiotics and not farm raised. There was a warning label as to the sodium content but after having spent hours in the sun a little salt would benefit these people. There were no additives in the bread and although it contained saturated fat a small slice would pass. The calories consumed were within guidelines of the hungry multitudes.
He gave the traditional Hebrew blessing and those fish and loaves multiplied enough to feed that crowd, plus they had extra baskets left over. What a miracle!
Why didn’t this crowd prepare for themselves? Couldn’t they have brought their own bread and fish? How does this story apply to us?
I often think how we too don’t prepare for the “end of the day”. Here we see God’s love and care for his people, but there is warning also. There will be a time when the fish and bread might run out.
The “end of the day” might be fast approaching.
Prepare now……..the Lord’s return might be closer than you think!!
AbideLines 