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It’s challenging to turn over to God a situation in our lives that we are deeply concerned about or even worried. We often feel as though we need to keep one hand on it, as if God needs our help. Some battles are so insurmountable. What could we do to overcome them anyway?
Last year, April and I faced a huge financial mess. We wound up one month away from being forced to sell our house to make ends meet. This house has been a special gift to me from God, so selling it would have been extremely painful. I’m sitting in the house tonight writing this post.
I have to confess it was one of the most trying times I have ever faced. I remember crying out to God, begging Him to answer my prayers and deliver us from evil. You talk about, “though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death!” Have you ever noticed it’s the “shadow of death” and not “death?” God didn’t make Ed McMahon show up with a giant check from Publishers Clearing House, and He didn’t give me the winning numbers for the current lottery. (Not that I make a habit of playing, anyway!)
What He did do was give me a plan. A plan to eventually, after several months, help us recover from a near financial disaster.
Rock of Ages, cleft for me, Let me hide myself in Thee.
This is how I fight my battles, It may look like I’m surrounded, but I’m surrounded by You.
Why are you down in the dumps, dear soul? Why are you crying the blues? Fix my eyes on God— soon I’ll be praising again. He puts a smile on my face. He’s my God. Ps. 42:5 (MSG)
“Mark, it never ceases to amaze (and amuse) me how the Lord uses one situation or inconvenience to accomplish something totally unrelated. You do a good job at always being ready to share the gospel.”
Ann’s comment in response to my blog post this past Tuesday, “An Eternal Mistake“. Her words were humbling. I replied, “I feel inadequate, and therefore I am more than happy to partner with the Holy Spirit. He always knows what to do and say when we trust in, lean on, and rely on Him.” (I kind of went Amplified Bible on ya there!) But her comment got me thinking.
It’s not always about ministering to someone. Two weeks ago, we were buying groceries, and I decided to make chili, but I could not recall the entire recipe, and I don’t like having to run back out to the store to purchase the item(s) I had forgotten. As sure as could be, we got home, and I looked only to discover I had missed two essential items. Neither of which were in our pantry.
So, two days later, we reluctantly got in our car and headed off to a nearby grocery store. Before we could get to the end of our street, we saw where someone had thrown out an elliptical exercise machine. April recently mentioned she wanted a treadmill, and I told her that an elliptical would be better on the knees. I said they were expensive but that we would look into it. When we saw the free machine, I said, “Oh, wow!” and explained my excitement.
After getting the two items, we turned down our street, and the machine was still there. I knew we had to stop and check it out. It appeared to be in good working condition, but it was dirty. We loaded it up, took it home, and then cleaned it up. I asked April to look it up and see what the value was. Would you believe $1080.00? April can’t believe people just throw out good things. I said, “Welcome to America!” (She now wants to join “Dumpster Divers of America.”) So, another inconvenience wound up providing a “want” we had by God.
Then today, an old friend and coworker called me back. I called him yesterday after “randomly” thinking of him. We hadn’t spoken in a while. Toward the end of our conversation, I shared with him that last year I started experiencing some physical issues. I went to my doctor, and he sent me to have a stress test done, and by the end of that day, I had a stint inside my heart. Ten days later, I had three more put in. I found out that I had two arteries 99% blocked, and no one could believe I didn’t have a heart attack.
My friend got quiet, and I inquired as to why. He then told me he has the same physical issues I had. I begged him to get in immediately to see his doctor, and he assured me he would. After ending the call, I realized it was no accident or random thought to call him, but God placed him on my mind and prompted me to call, perhaps saving his life.
God is so loving and good to us. Even if people aren’t led by God for themselves, He still ministers to them through others. I have written many times in these blog posts that we need to trust God to handle everything in our lives so we can hear his Holy Spirit whisper to us about others and to be led by God for our own needs.
For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. Rom. 8:14 (NIV)
Now, if you will excuse me, it’s time for me to exercise on our new elliptical.
Waiting. The final frontier. To boldly go where no man wants to go. I don’t know about you, but I hate to wait on just about anything. No, I’m not that important, where I have to have everything right this second, but it would be nice.
Just today, my wife, April, is at the hospital waiting her turn to have a procedure done. They told us to be at the hospital at 10:15 AM, but they did not get her procedure started until 2:22 PM. As you know, one is not allowed to eat or drink after midnight before an operation, so needless to say, April was hangry! Yeah, that’s right, hungry and angry. I must say, she handled the delay a lot better than I would have. That’s because she is a very patient person. I, on the other hand, am not. It’s just not one of my finer qualities, although I desire it to be.
Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges (and traffic and lines that don’t move) come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way. (Words in parenthesis mine.) Jam. 1:2-4 (MSG)
Waiting in a line of traffic is challenging, and in a line to be served at a restaurant can be worse. Both are excruciating experiences to suffer through especially when the line next to you is moving, but yours is not. I hesitate to pray and ask God for help because I am afraid, He will put me in more situations to practice. Something I am not a big fan of in the first place. James 1:2-4; What challenging verses to live out!
Probably though, the most difficult thing to wait for is for God to provide help with your finances or a healing. It’s a toss-up between the two. If you are in a similar situation at this juncture in your journey called “life,” be encouraged. It may take a while for God to get all things lined up or to get your heart lined up with his perfect will for you, but He will do it.
So, hang on, hang in there. Keep believing, keep trusting, be patient with God because though you may not see the line moving know it is, and you will not be in that same spot forever. You will reach your destination. After all, isn’t that the goal?
[Post note: The surgery went well, and April is resting and recovering now but prayers are always welcome! Thanks.]
April made the dinner in the photo the other day. She made sweet and sour chicken that I thought was better than most Chinese restaurants’ versions, and I would know. I asked her how she did it and she replied, “I just followed a recipe.” It’s funny though how you can give 12 cooks the same recipe and the final dishes will all taste differently. Most likely due to each individual’s uniqueness.
A few years ago, while attending a church service that featured a semi-famous man of God, I witnessed individuals taking notes, as if they were there to learn the recipe of how to get God to do the same thing in their lives as He had done for them. They failed to realize the man of God was giving his testimony in hopes to boost one’s faith. Knowing that God did something for one can help you believe that God can do something big in your own life.
When one such note-taker tries to implement the same practice in the exact same way but fails to get the same result they can become disgruntled and dissatisfied with God. Attitudes Satan can use to draw an individual away from God.
Keep in mind, that God is extremely creative. He does things in unique ways. Not because He gets bored, but to exhibit just how vast his power and imagination are. He likes to do things in new ways. He may ultimately do for you, what He did for the man of God, but He will do it in a new, fresh way. In a way that is most likely due to each individual’s uniqueness.
See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? Isa. 43:19a (NIV)
It happened before I knew it. Facing a trying time, where facts were present regardless of having an understanding as to why, was very difficult for me. When you have to do another withdraw from your savings when in your mind you keep saying, “But, God, I know for sure we heard you!” I don’t understand why this venture has cost us financially, when it should have grown our finances.
By Saturday, while sitting in front of a warm fire, I realized I had not read from my current devotional, “Jesus Calling” all week. I went to get it. Ironically? No, but smacking me in the face was the overall theme for the week was, regardless of the circumstances, keep trusting me, and obeying also.
I needed to read that message every single day of this past week, but I wasn’t. Funny how quickly we take ownership of our situations in our minds. Then what’s odd is we seem to allow those situations to take ownership of us.
There are SO many good stanzas in this old hymn. Words that need to be taken to heart, and lived by.
“Father, I repent for taking my eyes off of you this past week. Please forgive me. I know and believe, that you are sovereign and you do know what you are doing in my life. I gave it to you. Help me not to take it back again. Thank you, God. Amen.”
I just finished editing my novel, with its cover design, and got it successfully sent off to the publisher. A huge undertaking to say the least. There were more issues that I ran into than there were tissues in the box. “Honey, we need more tissues!” Sorry, but I think she was making out the shopping list for the week. Yes, quitting, or giving up came to mind, more than once.
You see, this novel has been a seven year journey. I enjoy the story every time I read it. And even though I know what is coming next it still makes me laugh, or tear up. Knowing how I felt about the story I didn’t just want to throw it away.
So how did I get it completed? I asked God for help, a lot! He gave it to me too, It came in the form of wisdom not to run and buy software in order to load a tool I was in need of using, but He directed me to go to April’s computer and it had the necessary system requirements. He guided me who to reach out to for technical help. Not buying new software saved us money and that was a great thing! There was several other ways He helped as well.
I believe in “asking” God for help. In fact, it is one of the subjects in my next book I am going to start working on and finishing. I have been making this principle a part of my renewed mind in order to “ask” quickly, so I am not wasting my time struggling on my own.
He has even directed me to the internet to seek out answers. Isn’t that cool to know God knows about the internet? He will also help you find things that are lost, or misplaced, and you just can’t seem to find them. There seems to be a special anointing on items that are lost. I even asked God why He helps us find things that are lost and immediately I sensed in my spirit, “Because you were once lost!”
So the next time you need to know something, seeking wisdom and understanding, or are looking for something you can’t find, ask God for help! You will be amazed at the results. This is just another way God demonstrates how much He loves us and cares about the everyday things that matter to us. Also, remember to ask God to help your friends, and family members, loved ones to come to know him and accept him, for until they do, they are lost.
“If you don’t know what you’re doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You’ll get his help, and won’t be condescended to when you ask for it. Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought. People who “worry their prayers” are like wind-whipped waves. Don’t think you’re going to get anything from the Master that way, adrift at sea, keeping all your options open.” James 1:5-8 (MSG)
You hear the announcement, and yes, you look down at the number on the tag you pulled out of the dispenser when you walked in, even though you already know it wasn’t your number they called. You might as well be holding number “2275”.
Sad, but at least in America we are so impatient. We are spoiled. We are used to getting things now. Unfortunately, there are times when we take that attitude toward waiting for things from God. We make our needs known to God, and then we have to wait for the answer. Depending on the situation it can be extremely difficult. We wonder, “Did He even hear me?”
When we don’t see the answer we expect, and by the time we feel we need it, we can develop an attitude, toward others and even toward God. The truth is how do you know God isn’t working on it? What do you think He is doing? Here is what Oswald Chambers says:
“We look for visions from heaven and for earth-shaking events to see God’s power. Even the fact that we are dejected is proof that we do this. Yet we never realize that all the time God is at work in our everyday events and in the people around us. If we will only obey, and do the task that He has placed closest to us, we will see Him. One of the most amazing revelations of God comes to us when we learn that it is in the everyday things of life that we realize the magnificent deity of Jesus Christ.”
I like how Chambers worded this issue. When we “ask” God, then our next step is to “trust” God. Know, be confident that He has heard you and that He “is” working things out in the way that is “best” for you. Keep in mind, God isn’t working on one request at a time, but on every request of everyone around the world who ask, all at the same time. He doesn’t take care of one request and then call the next number of whoever is line. Yes God is that omnipotent and powerful, but also so loving that He puts on every job a personal touch designed just for you. And that my friend is called, “Love”!
brady, mark a. 