This morning I woke up dug right into God- my dad was so sick all night, ugh! He was flying out this morning to Hawaii. They have tried to make this trip 2 other times... first time, the airlines filed bankrupt the day they were to fly out and all flights were cancelled; second time, my dad blew his knee out the day before and he had to have surgery. Now they are finally hitting the flight, and he's sick as a dog! They boarded- and then delayed!! An old man got sick on the flight and they had to call the paramedics, of course my heart raced because when my mom first text me I read it so fast that I thought it was my dad. My dad was offended that I called him old heehee….Either way I was still very much impressed to pray for the old man.
Finally they are in flight... YAY!!
We are walking to the Mom-Mobile to head for school and wow, cold and cloudy! On the way to school Miley started having asthma problems, so I dropped the boys off; cover them in prayer and Miley- to get home to the old ball n chain (Neb). Unfortunately, it is my ball N chain and now my kids... Oh but God will use this in amazing ways... as he promises.
Grace is Enough
2 Corinthians 12:9 (The Message)
7-10Because of the extravagance of those revelations, and so I wouldn't get a big head, I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations. Satan's angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty! At first I didn't think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then he told me,
My grace is enough; it's all you need.
My strength comes into its own in your weakness.
Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ's strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become.
Miley is doing well now.
As I sit here and type, all I can think about is all the times people have said, "If only you would stop living in sin you would be healed, or you must not have enough faith!" Neither of these is correct... my God uses everything for 'His good and pleasing purpose." And if we can stop seeking God with the wrong intentions (Complete healing or the selfish desires) than maybe our eyes will be opened to the gift that God has given us and will use it in mighty ways. Can you imagine if God went around healing everyone, than people would only seek him out looking for only that, instead out of obedience and love and commitment?
Would you still love God even if he chose not to heal you?? Would you embrace it and use all things to glorify God's holy name- even in the midst of what seems so unfair...
Romans 12:2
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will
Matthew 17:20
He replied, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."
Philippians 4:6 (The Message)
6-7Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.
My God can move mountains through our faith, my life is not mine or yours and if he sees the path that’s best for me and doesn't always match up with 'my' wants- that’s OK! I will still follow. Will you?
Love your blog comments. Sorry to hear your dad is once again being challenged in making an enjoyable Hawaii vacation. Even more sorry to hear that he is old [snicker]. We miss ya'll!
ReplyDeleteWayne
1) Hope your dad is doing better! I think it's funny your dad got offended when you called him old--my parents roll their eyes or laugh when I say they're old to their faces. Sometimes my mom says, "If you're lucky, you'll be this old someday."
ReplyDelete2) Your comments about healing make me wonder if the people who tell you those hurtful things think God is just a magical button in the sky to push when we have problems or struggle in any way. That viewpoint makes sense, but it puts God in a very small box. If he fixed everything, every time we ask, we'd be so much weaker and more independent from Him! Not only would we not rely on Him through the easy times, we would never be able to deal with hardship without an instant fix (or accept His grace--the reason He sent Jesus!!).
Thank you Wayne!
ReplyDeleteCatherine- Love it, what if God was a magical box....
Grace grace grace... this sums up what God taught me through 2009. I became very confident in myself in allowing or not allowing people to pray for me, especially healing. I know we have has this conversation! But I must share again... never know who is reading, I don't want people praying for me that have the wrong intentions and are only willing to accept results that might not be God's plan. I wonder if it's not me that has the lack of faith, or are these 'type' of people that lack in their faith- that MUST see miracles??? I don't know...I absolutely know that if God wanted to choose to heal me - he would. There are modern day miracles all around us!! Financially, spiritually and physically....We just need to open our eyes to the bigger picture! Thank you for your comments.... and the conversation continues!