Mid-Week Message - His Will

 "He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, 'My Father!  If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me.  Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.'"  Matthew 26:39  (NLT)

Today, someone will stand at a loved one's bedside begging the Lord for healing.  They know He has the power and that His love is greater than theirs so they will pray with the faith that He will grant their request so that they might have more time with this person who means so much.  Then, in a few days, they will stand near a casket and ask Him why He did not answer their prayer the way they wanted Him to.  

When companies go through lay-offs employees ask God to protect their jobs so that they can continue to provide for their families.  Yet, one day they show up to work and find a manager waiting to speak to them.  They are ushered into a room and given the news that their job has been eliminated.  Shaking their heads, they gather their personal items.  As they walk out the front door they wonder why their prayer wasn't honored and they may even ask the Lord if He understands what this means and how their needs are going to be provided for.  

When we fervently pray, laying our needs before our Father in Heaven, we are placing our faith and trust in Him to take care of whatever situation it is.  But what we are really hoping for is that He will respond the way we want Him to.  We know He can do all things and by making our requests known to Him we trust in our hearts that He will do what we feel needs to be done. 

When Jesus was in the garden praying before His crucifixion, He too asked the Lord for another outcome.  But, He knew that it was more important for His Father's will to be done than His.  

Laying our own will aside and acknowledging that what really matters is that His will is done can be very difficult because we know that His will might very possibly differ from our own.  We don't want to be led into unchartered territory.  We don't want to say goodbye to someone we love.  We don't want to have to wonder how our needs are going to be met tomorrow.  

I understand.  I have been the one begging for healing and my family has experienced times when our future has changed in an instant.  Many times I have asked why.  

Over the years I have learned that the Lord does not owe me an explanation.  His will, and His reasons are far beyond what I would likely understand.  However, His love for me remains fast and He continues to guide my way.   

When we feel lost, for whatever reason, the best thing to do is to move closer to Him. We may never know why things happen the way they do but we know that He knows and we can be sure that whatever darkness we encounter cannot overpower His light.  

Please understand that I am not dismissing the pain and suffering that can descend upon us in times of tragedy, turbulence or violence.  I grasp the devastation that life can bring.  But this one thing I do know and that is that the love of our Father exceeds anything that can happen on this orb and that we were created for eternity with Him.  Today will fade away and there will be an end to earthly tomorrows.  Soon there will be no more tears for those who believe in Jesus.  

Hang on.  Ask for His will to be done and trust that He will cradle us through any dark days we may traverse.  May His grace and mercy enfold us all.  God bless.  

Mid-Week Message - His Light Through Our Darkness

"But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.'  Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me."  2 Corinthians 12:9  (NIV) 

Last night I was listening to a video made by Joni Eareckson Tada.  For those of you who do not know, she was injured in a diving accident in her younger years and has lived her life as a quadriplegic and built a ministry helping others with disabilities.  Now 71, she has faced many serious health issues, including cancer, and is just recovering from COVID.  She stated in the video that she had to face the fact that this virus might be more than her weak body could handle and, as she prayed, she felt God was asking her if she truly trusted Him.  

Ideally, we would all be born healthy and trouble free and remain that way until the end of our lives, but life is not that way.  The list of diseases, conditions, tragedies and problems that can befall us is exhaustive.  The fact is that any of us can be affected at any time by life-changing issues.  Whatever the cause, we have a choice as to how we deal with what we encounter.  We can be bitter, as many are, or we can ask the Lord to guide us through and to use our struggles for His glory.  

I have a sweet friend whose son violated the law and had to spend time in prison.  Her heart was broken and she had no idea how to move forward. She kept praying fervently for him and asked others to do so as well.  She also asked the Lord for a purpose in what was happening.  He began to bring people into her life that were going through the same experience and she was able to minister to them because she trusted that the Lord had a plan. Because her heart remained open to her Savior, His light brightened the dark path of others.  

In the first verses of the ninth chapter of John, Jesus and His disciples encounter and man that was born blind.  The disciples ask Jesus, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"  Jesus responded, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him."  Jesus healed the man and he went and told others and the power of God was made known.  

I am not saying that God is handing out illnesses or difficulties for His own gratification.  I'm not implying that at all.  My point is that we have a choice in how we deal with these things that arise in our lives.  We can climb into our beds and hide our heads under the covers and hope our problems just disappear, or we can bow at the feet of Jesus, pour out our hearts, then ask Him to be present and active so that His power and love will be seen in how we proceed and that He will be glorified. 

There are two quotes that I would like to share before I close.  One was in one of my morning devotions: 

God often uses our deepest pain as the launching pad for our greatest calling.  (author unknown). 

"When the suffering soul reaches a calm, sweet carelessness, when it can inwardly smile at its own suffering and not even ask to be delivered, then it works its blessed ministry.  Then the cross you carry begins to weave itself into a crown."  G.D. Watson

May we find joy in whatever life brings us as we dedicate each breath to the One who loves us with His indescribable love.  And, Lord, help us to allow you to shine whenever we find ourselves in a place of darkness.  God bless.   

Mid-Week Message - Times of Pain

"But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.'  Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.  That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties.  For when I am weak, then I am strong."  2 Corinthians 12:9-10  (NIV)

One day in 2012, as I was stepping out of the car, I noticed my left leg was shaking as I straightened it.  There was no pain so I continued doing everything I needed to do. I didn't experience the same thing again so I forgot about it.  Then, a couple of days later, my lower leg began hurting when I was on it.  The pain came and went so, again, I really didn't worry about it.  As the days went by, the pain worsened until finally it was taking me over an hour to make it from my sofa to my bathroom and I was having to lean on a bar stool most of the way.  Finally, I called my doctor who recommended that I go to an urgent care clinic and have it x-rayed.  The x-ray was aimed at my knee and the physician concluded that my pain was from complications of my arthritis.  He gave me a prescription for pain medication and told me to go home and use a walker.  

Two days later, when I attempted to stand, the pain was so severe that I couldn't bear to put my foot on the floor.  Because there was no way for me to get in my car, we called an ambulance.  That day I spent twelve hours in the emergency room.  My husband had brought with us the copies of the x-rays from two days before so the presiding doctor did not do any tests of his own and after twelve hours sent me home with another prescription for pain medication and told me to use a walker.  

It was a struggle to get into the house but my husband finally got me situated for the night.  The next morning, he left to conduct worship services for the retirement community where we were ministering.  When I stood, the pain was indescribable and I couldn't take a step at all.  I called for my daughter for quite some time but she couldn't hear me.  Eventually, I passed out and woke up on my bathroom floor.  After some time, my daughter came to check on me and my husband came home, at which time I called for an ambulance again.  This time, a different physician ordered x-rays of my entire leg and found that my tibia was completely severed.  They figured that it had been broken for one and a half to two weeks.

I apologize for the long story, but we all have them, don't we?  We all have times in our lives where the pain we experience is beyond what we think we can bear.  Whether it be physical, emotional, mental or spiritual, pain is a warning signal that something is wrong and needs to be tended to.  It serves another purpose as well, it drives us to the Great Physician and we cry out to Him for help.  

I chose today's verse because Paul went through more in his lifetime that I can even imagine withstanding.  He was ship-wrecked, beaten and imprisoned.  His very life hung in the balance as there were many who wanted to see him dead.  Yet, in all of his suffering, he continued to serve the Lord.  He never let his pain get in the way of his purpose, rather, he used his pain to teach those around him, and ultimately everyone who would ever pick up a Bible, that the grace of God is greater than anything this world might dish out and that when we rely on Christ during our times of weakness, His strength will carry us through.  

I have no way of knowing what you are going through at this moment.  Perhaps this is a painful time and you are wondering how you are going to make it through.  I know two things.  One is that everything passes in time.  But the other is that your Father in Heaven loves you beyond measure. He will supply you with the strength you need and by relying on Him and continuing to praise Him no matter what, He will be glorified and your joy will increase.  We were never meant to carry our burdens alone.  Look up and reach out.  He has a plan and you will be able to look back on this time and see how He was with you.  In all things, His grace is sufficient.  God bless. 

Lessons of Faith - Dealing with Suffering

At some point in time, we all face a trial that profoundly impacts our lives. It could be medical, financial, spiritual or a combination of all three. We are pushed to our limits and we feel that we are alone. We feel that God has given up on us or that He has turned His back on us. In some cases, we feel that God has singled us out and He is punishing us for something that we have done or failed to do. We plead with God to relieve the suffering or, if it continues day after day, week after week and month after month, we ask Him, "Haven't I suffered enough?"

These are all natural things we do. We feel that God has abandoned us and that we are doomed to suffer for whatever reason. As I continue to deal with my illness, I can tell you that I have found myself wondering if God even cared for me or that He was listening to my prayers. I searched my soul to find where I had sinned and now had to endure punishment for something I had done. I cried out to God for wisdom and felt that all I received in return was silence. I know that there are those of you who have felt the same. 

We, however, should not feel that way. God always listens to His children and responds to their prayers. Peter tells us, in chapter 3 of his First Epistle, "12 The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right, and his ears are open to their prayers. But the Lord turns his face against those who do evil."

God listens to His children and watches over them. During our times of trials and troubles, we often forget His promise to us. We often succumb to the whispers of Satan as he tells us that God does not care about us. It is a lie. Once again, Satan exploits your situation and worms his way into your heart and mind. He tries to turn you away from God. Look at the last part of verse 12. God only turns His face away from those who do evil. As His children, we have been made righteous by God by accepting His son, Christ Jesus, as our personal Savior and Lord. Satan will always attack at the time when we are weakest. It is at that moment that we really are the strongest.

Paul, in his Second Epistle to the Corinthians, tells them about his weaknesses, and the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that he suffered for Christ. But, look at the last part of 2 Corinthians 12:10. "For when I am weak, then I am strong."

How is this even possible? Paul tells us about the Lord's response to his pleading to take away the insults, hardships, persecutions and trouble. "My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness." Since we cannot depend on ourselves, we must learn to depend on Him even during our times of trials and troubles. When we suffer, we are to reach out to Him in prayer not to plead with Him. We are to praise Him and thank Him for all of the blessings He has given us.

Even in the darkest hours, there are moments of light. We should be thanking God for those blessings of light that remind us that He loves us. Paul, in 1 Thessalonians 5, gives us the way we should be acting even in the face of disaster. "16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."

It starts with us changing how we pray. God knows what we are enduring. When we change our prayer by moving away from pleading with Him to praising Him, our attitudes change and we are more optimistic and experience a God-given heavenly peace. We should be giving thanks and praying for His will to be done in our lives no matter what the final outcome is to be. It is a hard thing to accept, but we are assured that God will never forsake us.

Jesus, in John 16, tells us that we will face all sorts of trials and sorrows during the course of our lives. "33 I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world."

Jesus was victorious over death so that we may have eternal life and the promise of salvation. With that firmly planted in our heart, mind and soul, we, too, can overcome our many trials and sorrows and praise our Savior all the day long even during the most difficult of times as long as we remember to rejoice always, pray without ceasing and give thanks in all circumstances.