I stand amazed at the goodness of God. I say it, and say it, and say it, and not only does it never get old, but the knowing gets sweeter and deeper and more wonderful....words are inadequate. It leaves me speechless.
But somehow I have to convey to you my wonder of the God we serve. We cannot even comprehend all that He is: His love for us ~ oh, the breadth, the height, the depth of it; His goodness ~ it's passed finding out; His righteousness and justice ~ they are simply incomprehensible.
But it's real. All of it. He is real. Everything that God says He is, is true! He still lives. He is still on the throne. He is still in control. And He is our Father. My heart is overwhelmed with gratitude that He is all in all...for me.
Why then do we live as if He is dead? We walk around carrying burdens of worry, and sadness, and fear, and defeat. Anyone seeing us walking down the street would have no reason to believe that we are Christians. We don't reflect the Lord Jesus in any way.
Everything is conveyed through our facial expressions in an Eeyore tone, "Woe is me. I'm going through such tremendous trials. I have more reason than anyone else to be sad and discouraged. People will understand my tears and long face when they know all that I have to endure. They think they have trials, but compared to mine theirs are nothing."
That is not right.
I can't tell you how many times people have commented to me and my family that they simply can't believe how calm we are in all of this. We've heard over and over in some form, "If it were me, I would be so anxious and all torn up inside. I already am, and it's not even my burden to bear!" Or "If it were me, I would just give in and pay my taxes rather than go through all of this!" And this takes the cake, "Would you please just STOP being so calm about all this?" There are many, many things that I would like to say in response to these comments, but this isn't about me. People believe what they want to believe. Nothing I could say will change that so I try to just let it go. While we appreciate that people care, it's simply terrible that people are putting themselves through that on account of this. Those feelings are not the result of faith; they are the result of making the choice not to trust God. Plain and simple.
Don't be afraid for us. We aren't. The Bible says at least 365 times NOT to fear. Fear of anything or anyone except for God Himself is a sin. Worry is a sin.
My answer personally is always that it isn't me. If it were up to me, if I didn't have the LORD, I would be a nervous, blubbering, worried mess! I KNOW ME! No, it's all God. He has given us His peace that truly does pass all human understanding.
I have to say it again. I want you to know that God is FOR REAL! His greatness is not something that is just meant to be something nice for us to hear about in church, and read on the rare occasions that we happen to pick up our Bibles, only to promptly be thrown aside and forgotten about. Never once actually applied to everyday, modern life.
No, it is there for US. It is meant to be experienced ~ yes, by you and me, not just by the "heroes" in the Bible. They weren't worthy to be called heroes, anymore than you and I are, until they took God at His Word. What God says is for us to claim as our own, and to be taken out and LIVED.
Faith without works is D.E.A.D. You can say until you're blue in the face that you believe the Bible, but it doesn't actually become the truth until you LIVE it.
I know, I know, we've heard it all before. But I have observed in my own life and in the lives of countless other Christians that we have perfected the ability to sit through the dispensation of tremendous wisdom, feel the conviction of God, to then pray that God would use what we heard in our lives, and then straightway walk out the doors and forget about it. Never even once giving a thought as to how it applies to our every day lives.
Well, I for one am ready to change all that. I don't want to live a mediocre, just "average", Christian life. I want to be different. I want God's power on my life. I want to be used. I want to be emptied of myself so that He can fill me with His Spirit. I want to be a reflection of Jesus Christ. I want God to see my faith in action.
So, with my husband's permission, I'm going to step out in faith and say something. Something that makes my insides literally tremble, but I have to do it.
I am trusting God for a miracle. In four days my parents are supposed to be self-surrendering to their respective prisons. But God has given us peace that prison is not a part of the plan. I don't know how He's going to do it, I just know that He is.
I have evaluated that literally to death. Is it my own wishful thinking? Am I being unrealistic? Am I being delusional because I want so badly for this to be true? But it always comes back to this one question: Do you believe?
Do you believe that God wants to show you His greatness?
Do you believe that God cares about every minute detail of your life, and has a plan?
Do you believe that prayer changes things?
Do you believe that the outcome of things is based solely on the strength of your faith? Did He not say, "according to your faith be it unto you?"
Do you believe that God is a prayer-hearing, prayer-answering God?
Do you believe that NOTHING is impossible with God?
If none of the above are true, I venture to say to you that we all might as well give up on this whole Christianity thing. There is no hope. The God we say we serve is no greater than the idols and icons that sit in the front of Catholic churches. Eyes have they, but they see not. Ears have they, but they hear not. Let's all just curse God and die. He is a liar, therefore everything is a lie.
Is that not how we live? We live and pray like atheists. "Not me", you say? Well, show me. Show me your faith by your works.
Faith does not become real because it is talked about; faith is only real when it is lived. The power of God is limited only by the strength of our faith.
I have to remind myself again and again of the definition of faith. "Faith is the substance of things HOPED for; the evidence of things NOT SEEN!" God doesn't want us to believe after the miracle! NO. In order for a miracle to take place we have to believe beforehand.
If He can speak the world into being, and heal the blind, lame and sick, and rain down fire from heaven, and part the Red Sea with a blast of His nostrils, and deliver Daniel from the lion's den, and give David the victory over Goliath, and countless other things recorded and unrecorded in Scripture, then He can do this.
God is never late, rarely early, but always on time. Watch and pray with me, and let's see what great thing God is going to do next!
7 comments:
Yes, this would be amazing but not too hard for God, as you said. I'll continue praying. Thanks for the challenge concerning our faith in the Lord.
Sherri~ Statues (and other representations of saints) in Catholic churches are not idols. (They simply remind us that we are surrounded by a great "cloud of witnesses.") No orthodox Catholic worships these statues or the saints they represent. Your comments here are misleading.
I'll be praying for your parents. God's peace be with all of you!
Love you, Sherri! Your post here was so encouraging. Yes, we do serve a risen Saviour who is able to do above anything we ask or think! I believe that He WILL work a miracle and I will be continually in prayer for the whole situation. ((hug))
-Rebecca
Very nice post. Faith is something that all Christians battle with so often. Your parents' faith is an inspiration. They seem as if they take their burdens to the Lord and leave them there so readily. I am sure that it has not been as easy as that, but it is awesome seeing someone who can say that they stand somewhere and are willing to back it up instead of backing down. We will all be standing in awe of God's provisions in just a few days. It gives me goose bumps just to think about it.
Love You. We're praying for you and Amy, and Hank and Judy. Love you all.
"The idols of the heathen are silver and gold, the work of men's hands. They have mouths, but they speak not; eyes have they, but they see not; They have ears, but they hear not; neither is there any breath in their mouths. They that make them are like unto them: so is every one that trusteth in them." Psalms 135:15-18
Leviticus 26:1 "Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am the LORD your God."
If I'm not mistaken, Pam, you have recently alluded to the fact that you believe your prayers to a certain saint are the reason your son is thriving. The reality of it is that God, and God alone, hears and answers prayer. If you disagree with what I've stated, feel free to take it up with God. Your disagreement is not with me. He is drawing you....
Being raised in a very staunch Catholic home and attending a Parochial school run by a "priest" and taught by nuns, I can say without any doubt that your comments are not misleading at all. Catholics are very much into idol worship and Mary is one of those idols. It saddens me, even sickens me, that this false religion has such a strong hold on so many ignorant people (ignorance is a choice). I am so thankful that I found the Truth in God's Word and have accepted Jesus as my Savior. There is no need for all of the ritualistic nonsense that goes on in the Catholic churches. Ask any Catholic who they listen to and adore - God or the Pope. For them to answer honestly they would have to say the Pope. They hold him on a very high pedestal. So sad, but oh so very true. I could write a book about the fallacies of the Catholic religion (lent, stations of the cross, communion, baby baptism, confirmation, priests not being allowed to be married-which is another topic in and of itself- holy water, the actual body and blood of Christ, rosaries, nuns, monks, etc. etc.) but there are plenty out there already. And yes, Catholicism is a RELIGION which means you must "work" your way to Heaven. Being a born-again Christian is having a RELATIONSHIP with Jesus. Recognizing that you are a sinner and asking Jesus to forgive your sins and live in your heart. That's why He died on the cross. He did not die in vain so that we would think that we have to do whatever we can to get to Heaven. WORKS. ALL Catholic religions are all about WORKS. Christianity is all about FAITH. Faith in God. PERIOD! If anyone thinks that I am mistaken about any of the above I would certainly appreciate scripture to prove the so-called error.
Amen and Amen to Anonymous' views. She/he stands right where the Bible stands, very firmly, I might add. Bravo.
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