Dear Friends,
In the midst of my excitement over the past two weeks, there has also been some sobering moments. A wonderful and faithful woman of God, whom I met last year, died last week of cancer that had gone to her liver. A woman in Bible Study has a nephew in a coma from an accident. My best friend, Cindy, has suffered from Shingles for almost a year.
Why is it that God is silent in some cases, and performs miracles in others? Every believer has experienced a time of fervent pleading and prayer, and God did not grant it. Does this mean that prayer is like rolling the dice and sometimes you get lucky?
"Our faith is anchored not in signs and wonders, but in the sovereign God of the universe. He will not "perform" on cue to impress us. Jesus wants us to accept Him in the absence of proof. Jesus told Thomas, "Blessed are those who have NOT seen and yet have believed."(John 20:29). We serve this Lord not because He dances to our tune, but because we trust His preeminence in our lives. Ultimately, He must be the determiner of what is in our best interest. We can't see the future. We don't know His plan. We perceive only the small picture, and not even that very clearly." James Dobson - "When God Does Not Make Sense"
When Jesus prayed in the garden for God, His Father, to take away the cup, His soul was distressed over what He knew was coming. Thankfully, for us, God said no. Many great Biblical characters prayed for healing, and in many cases, God said no. However, when Jesus was walking on this earth, if a person came to Him with faith, He healed them. I think of my own medical situation, and God has performed a great miracle on the lesions on my liver, but I still have hundreds of lesions all over my bones. This is definitely not an affliction that God wants me to walk away from free and clear, He is still calling me to trust Him and be at peace with my cancer.
I am not qualified to explain why some suffer terribly, and others don't. Nothing I could say would ever satisfy the parent who has lost a child after praying and pleading for God to save them. I do believe that when we are faced with grief, and our prayers have not been answered, we either choose to say, "God is still God, and I know His character and will trust Him anyways," or we become bitter. It all comes down to faith.
I love the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego who was sent to the fiery furnace by King Nebachadnezzar (Daniel 3) because they refused to bow down and worship the idol he set before them. Their response to the King's threat is powerful:
"The God we serve is able to save us from it, and He will rescue us from your hand, O king. BUT EVEN IF HE DOES NOT, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up."
I feel deeply humbled that God has rescued me in such a powerful way. The godly lady that passed away last week found out she had cancer in her liver a month before me. She did not lack faith in healing, and she fixed her eyes on God and never looked away. She said, "Even if God does not heal me, I will trust Him anyways." I have said the same thing. It is true that I prayed with great confidence in my healing, but had it not happened, I would still be writing and praising God for the work He has done, and the different kind of healing that He has performed. Spiritual healing is more important that anything physically.
I feel that I am somewhat qualified to write about this subject, because the sweetest moments of my life has been this walk of faith while having cancer. It is sometimes hard to explain to those who are truly suffering and are thrown into the darkness of despair, but God does promise better. I always said I would rather Him write the story than me. Sometimes I got off track, but I would always come back to the promises in God's Word about what HE could do for me, and I wanted that. I would rather have my God, the one who can do the impossible if I am called to His purpose (Romans 8:28 again!), at the wheel of my car!
Whatever you struggle with today, take it straight into the loving arms of Jesus, who laid His life down for you. He would not have died for you and then want you to be miserable. He wants to have a relationship with you. Sometimes hardships are allowed in hopes of drawing you closer so you can be used for His plan. He promises, above all, that you can have the peace and assurance that, no matter what, He will never leave you or forsake you. (Hebrews 5:13)
Blessings,
Sandy
