Prayer and Big Red Fire Engines

 

There’s still a part of me that likes seeing trucks, trains and cars with sirens on them (except when they’re hiding along the highway). I’m blessed by the fact that when I need to go into the city, I get to ride a train and sometimes along the way, my commuter train passes a freight train that runs on a parallel track just after we cross into Philly. Just the sound of a diesel locomotive takes me back to fun times playing with toy trains as a kid as I try to guess from its sounds if the train is running loaded or empty.

Then there’s the joy of seeing an 18-wheeler cruising down the highway, be it a flatbed, a dry van or a car carrier. Those remind me of times crawling around with an old Tanka, back when they were made of metal and were as tough as any other toy out there. I wish I still had some of my old Tanka trucks or even my old Tanka crane which easily stood four feet in the air when its boom was raised to its highest point.

Speaking of childhood, there’s a young child who lives in my neighborhood who seems to love pretending to be a fireman. I’ve seen him riding around in a fireman’s turnout coat as he makes what sounds like a real siren, heading for a pretend emergency. It looks and sounds like he’s having fun, almost as much fun as it would be to ride on a big red fire truck. But for me, the sound of a siren always triggers mixed feelings. Hearing one reminds me of pretending to be a policeman or a fireman, but as an adult, it also reminds me of the dangers our first responders often face as well as the fact that someone at some destination needs emergency help in one form or another.

So, while I enjoy the sights and sounds of an emergency vehicle, they have also become a reminder that someone needs prayer. I pray for the person or people who are waiting for a First Responder to arrive. I pray for the police officer(s), or firemen, or paramedics who are responding to the call, often without truly knowing what they are getting ready to walk into. They need divine protection and I thank God that He goes into each situation with those who run towards danger.

For me, a red fire engine is a reminder to salute our First Responders, being thankful for all they do. It is also a reminder that they need our support and our prayer, as they put their lives on the line to protect all of us.

Fully Surrendered

 

Mark 10:13

How did the disciples get this so wrong? How could they have not known that Jesus welcomed the opportunity to bless these children? Assuming the book of Mark is somewhat in chronological order, this would have happened after the event described in Mark 9:36 where Jesus demonstrated his love for a child. How then did they not think He would make time for these children? And why didn’t they ask Him before dealing with the children according to their own understanding? This is what they thought was right and what they wanted but it was not what Jesus wanted. In fact, “He was greatly displeased…” (Mark 10:14)

I’ve read this verse many times before but reading it this time brought conviction. How many times have I done something that I thought was right and that I even thought was God’s will, only to find out it wasn’t? Those were times when I should have checked with God first before moving forward and doing what I thought was right. Those are also the times when I have found that even the “right thing” can be wrong, if I don’t get His opinion before lifting a finger.

As followers of Jesus, we must be careful not to make this mistake. We do not want to do something that we think is right only to find out it displeases God. To avoid this, we must get to know Him and be willing to ask Him what He wants done. We must ask how He wants to handle each situation in my life. We must then be fully surrendered.

God, Please Tell Me What to Do

 

Do you ask God for instructions, or do you tell Him what you want to do?

Of all the questions Moses asked during His encounter with God at the burning bush, the one he asked in verse 13 may be the most important:

Then Moses said to God, “Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?”

Exodus 3:13 (NKJV)

God had revealed what He was calling Moses to do and then the Lord reassured Moses that He would be with him. In response, Moses is basically asking what he should do when he gets there. He knew that there would be questions if he just showed up, claiming to speak for God. The people of Israel were used to the polytheistic religion of the Egyptians, and I suspect there were a lot of people claiming to speak for various deities, including Pharaoh. Moses would have to identify the God whom he claimed to represent and so it made sense to ask God to give him the words he should say.

As followers of Christ, we are called to serve and sometimes that means saying the right thing. In those moments it is important that we recognize that we speak on behalf of our King and our words must be His. Like Moses, we need to ask God to give us the words He wants us to say. This should be a regular part of our prayer life and as we ask, we must trust that He, through His Holy Spirit, will speak through us if we surrender.

There are certain things that we should often ask of our God. Near the top of the list should be, “What should I say?” or “What should I do?” We have plenty of opportunities to serve our Heavenly Father and if we are to do it right, we must be willing to humble ourselves and ask Him to tell us what to do.

When God Uses Prayer to Reveal Your Calling

Exodus 3:9-10

In earlier posts I described how prayer is so much more than us just telling God what we want. Prayer should be a conversation with God, and as such we should give Him time to speak. But when you let God speak, you should be prepared as He might ask you to do something. That’s when prayer becomes a chance for God to reveal a very important aspect of your relationship with Him. That’s when prayer becomes a chance for God to reveal your calling.

In Moses’ case the calling is described in verse 10 where God tells him that he is being sent to Pharoah. Once back in Egypt, Moses’ job was to bring the people of Israel out. In other words, Moses was being sent to serve as God’s answer to the people crying out to God (praying) as He described in verse 9. This was God’s calling upon Moses’ life and it became the legacy by which we know Moses today. All of it started first with the prayer of the people of Israel crying out to God and then with the conversation (the prayer) between Moses and God.

Up to this point Moses has only said one thing, “Here I am.” The rest of the conversation is God revealing His plans. The dictionary definition of prayer does not seem to leave room for this sort of interaction. Does your prayer life leave room? Do you hold two-way conversations with God that allow for your prayers to become a chance for God to reveal your calling?

Moses’ Prayer Life: God Comes Down to Us

In the first ten verses of Exodus 3, God does most of the talking. Yes, Moses responds when God calls his name but beyond that it’s God speaking with Moses and in verse 8 God says something I find both amazing and reassuring. After telling Moses that He has seen the suffering of His people, God says, “So I have come down to deliver them…” God saw that His people were in a bad situation, and He came down to do something about it. I’m encouraged because I believe He still responds the same way today when His children are in a bad situation.

Going back to the definition that I found for the first part of this series, prayer is described as something that sounds one sided. It is defined in a way that makes it sound as if we do all the talking while God listens. Yes, there is the hope that God will do something in response to whatever we are asking but, in this case, God starts the prayer by describing what He was already in the process of doing.

Here we see an active God who has come down to deliver. The same could be said about what we see in the Gospels. God saw that mankind was lost in sin and so He came down and took on flesh with the goal of delivering us from a bad situation. Because God loves us, He came down and did something about our situation. This is a fundamental part of the Christian doctrine. Jesus Christ, who is God in the flesh, came down to earth and died to pay our sin debt. God is not passively watching us from a distance, He was and is active in the lives of His children, just as He revealed Himself to be during Moses’ prayer time at the burning bush.

In my previous post about Moses’ prayer life, I wrote that we must be willing to listen from time to time when we pray. I believe that if we do so, we will find that God is active in our lives even before we ask. Prayer can serve as an opportunity for God to reveal what He is doing in our lives, if we give Him the chance to do so. So, continue to make your supplications known to God. Continue to ask with the expectation that He will respond in some way. Just make sure that you are willing to stop from time to time to give Him a chance to reveal what He is doing in response to what you are asking.

How Can Prayer Help Us See What God Sees?

The burning bush drew Moses into a conversation with God and into a life altering prayer time where God revealed Himself. This conversation did not fit the normal definition of prayer where we make our desires known to God. In fact, God spoke first, letting Moses know exactly why the Creator of the universe wanted to get his attention.

“I have surely seen…”

Would you like to see the world as God sees it? True, we get the opportunity to see God’s viewpoint every time we open the Bible but what if there was a way to go much deeper? What if God wants us to see the world through His eyes? Would that be worth it for you to spend a couple of extra minutes in prayer beyond the point when you finish asking for what you want?

Exodus 3:7

After introducing Himself in Exodus 3:6, God tells Moses that He has seen the oppression of His people in Egypt. Moses of course knew of this oppression, having seen it firsthand. He had even tried to do something about the situation, however by trying to solve a problem his way he managed to get himself run out of town. But now God wanted Moses to know that He was not blind to the suffering of the people of Israel. He could see and He could hear, and He was determined to do more than just watch from a distance (verse 8).

While letting Moses know that He saw the oppression, God calls the people of Israel His people. Keep in mind that this is before God issued the Ten Commandments and before the people of Israel entered a covenant with Him. Yet, He saw them as His people, and He was responding to the cries of His people. He wanted Moses to know that He was coming to His own, and not to just some folks whom He happen to know about. In doing so, God allows Moses to see things from His point of view, giving him a perfect view of the world around him.

What’s interesting is that Moses had not spoken up until this point. He just listened and God did all the talking. This is completely different from the definition of prayer mentioned in Part 1 of the burning bush posts. That definition, along with most of what is taught about prayer, involves us talking, telling God what we want, either for ourselves or for those around us. But the example set by Moses at the burning bush involves listening as God gives His point of view.

Can prayer help us see what God sees? Based on what happened to Moses, I believe the answer is yes. But for this to happen we need to be willing to listen, not just talk. If prayer is a conversation, we need to give God time to speak. We need to spend time in the Bible, which is God speaking to us, but we also need to be quiet and let Him say what He wants to, how He wants to.

Moses did not know what to expect when he turned to see what was going on at the burning bush. Likewise, I believe we all need time when we quietly approach God in prayer with only an expectation of God revealing His point of view to those who are willing to listen.

 

See Also: Series page – Moses’Prayer Life Series

Have You Ever Prayed a Psalm 88 Prayer?

I’m writing this post during Holy Week, one of the most important times of the year for most Christians. Soon we will reflect upon the death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, celebrating the fact that He paid our sin debt. Because of His sacrifice, those who believe in Him have peace with God and those who believe in His name have been given the power to become children of God (John 1:12). But do you always feel like one of His children or are there times when you feel distanced from the Father: times when you wonder if He really cares? Are there times when you feel like He may have forgotten you? Are there times when you prayed a Psalm 88 prayer?

No, things are not going well

When I read Psalm 88, I see something that is very different from most of the other Psalms and very different from the advice often given by the church. This Psalm starts of like the others, with the writer crying out to God because things aren’t going very well. But in the other Psalms the writer eventually musters up a bunch of faith and ends by looking forward to the great things God will do. Whatever the need, even if it’s a need for vengeance upon those who have done wrong, the writers of the Psalms seem to always come back to some variation of “I trust in God.” But not Psalm 88.

Psalm 88 begins by asking God to listen, followed by a description of how the writer’s, “…soul is full of troubles.” The writer describes feeling, “Like the slain who lie in the grave,” and like one who God, “…remember(s) no more…” The Psalmist speaks of being in darkness and of how he feels like he is under God’s wrath. He talks about crying out to the Lord but feeling as if the Lord has cast off his soul. Psalm 88 paints a picture of personal suffering and then…? And then the Psalm comes to an end.

There is no, “God’s got this,” nor is there a declaration that the Psalmist will wait upon the Lord. Psalm 88 ends, leaving the reader wondering where the Psalmist’s faith is at this point. Does he make the seemingly quick recovery that we so often see in the Psalms and throughout the entire Bible? He may have but he doesn’t tell us here. Psalm 88 is an honest expression of how this writer felt at the time. Things were not good, and it seems as if he didn’t feel like ending on a high note.

So, what is a Psalm 88 prayer?

A Psalm 88 prayer is an honest prayer. It is a time of pouring out exactly what is on our hearts, even if we are struggling to see the light at the end of the tunnel. It’s a prayer that is covered in tears, driven by a feeling that all is not well and by a feeling that God is not close by. The fact that this type of prayer is in the Bible and inspired by God (2 Timothy 3:16) gives permission for us to pray this kind of honest prayer, following the example set by the Psalmist during a time of suffering.

Do you pray these kinds of honest prayers? I know I have all to often tried to clean up my prayers, praying what I thought God (and/or my church brethren) wanted to hear. But doing so is telling God a lie, something I’m no longer comfortable with. I want to be honest with God, just like Psalm 88 is honest. How about you? Is your relationship with God one where you pray a Psalm 88 prayer when needed?

Another Look at Moses’ Prayer Life

Back in 2016 I took a look at the conversation that Moses had with God at the scene of the burning bush. At the time I intended to take a quick walk through the book of Exodus, looking at the times when Moses was able to talk with God. Why? Well, anyone with whom God speaks as one would speak to a friend, must have had a great prayer life, one that might help us in our prayers today.

So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend.

Exodus 33:11a (NKJV)

I never got to finish looking at Moses’ prayer life because…well…I’m not going to waste your time with any excuses. But today seems as good a time to take a look as any. Before we go into any new posts, I invite you to go back to “Should Moses Experience at the Burning Bush be Called Prayer?” Part I first posted on December 7, 2016: http://denniswcolemanjr.blogspot.com/2016/12/should-moses-experience-at-burning-bush.html

Part 2 posted on January 4, 2017: http://denniswcolemanjr.blogspot.com/2017/01/should-moses-experience-at-burning-bush.html

And Part 3 posted on January 11, 2017

http://denniswcolemanjr.blogspot.com/2017/01/should-moses-experience-at-burning-bush_11.html

My Toughest Prayer at My Current Life Stage

Back in 2019 I wrote a post in which I talked about my two toughest prayers: two prayers that were (and still are) difficult to say because both involve surrender to God. The first of these prayers is, "Father give me the day I need to grow in You." The second is even more difficult to say: "Father give my family the day they need to grow in You." A lot has happened since 2019 and at times God did choose difficult roads that I never would have chosen for myself, like a family health scare that was hard to stomach at the time but that prevented an even bigger health problem in the long run. These prayers are still difficult for me to say but I still say them, thanking God for what He is doing as He leads me along His chosen paths.

I’m at a stage now where the second question carries even more weight. My wife and I have successfully gotten both of our sons through high school with both moving on to “adult life.” One of my sons chose the more traditional path, going to college and then grad school and now he has his first “real” job. He is also married, with he and his wife taking on the challenge of owning a puppy. My other son chose a very non-traditional path with God opening doors and providing each step of the way. The path he has chosen will be difficult but he has embraced the challenge that lies ahead. In both cases it’s difficult to be on the sidelines and yet that is where I need to be: out of God’s way.

When the boys were in school I could fool myself into thinking that I had some level of control. Now they are both well beyond my reach. One thing that has not changed is my desire for both of them to know God and to grow spiritually, giving their hearts in surrender to Him. This means I still pray that same prayer for them now that I did back then, only expanding it to cover my daughter-in-law and my younger son’s girlfriend. "Father give my family the day they need to grow in You." It’s still a difficult prayer because I want to see them all succeed without the difficulties that I know are normal in life and I still have no control over seeing this goal achieved. Fortunately, the One who answers this prayer has not changed and I can rest assured that He will lead my family down the paths where they can enjoy His best, even if those paths are a bit difficult.

What Do Your Actions Reveal About Your Faith?

There they were, enjoying the view from their campsite along the shores of the Red Sea. But then something drew their attention to the opposite direction where Pharoah and the armies of Egypt were in hot pursuit. The people of Israel were understandably frightened and initially they cried out to the LORD (Exodus 14:10). Unfortunately what they did next was completely wrong and their actions revealed what they really believed about their God.

Instead of waiting for an answer from God, the people turned on Moses, their leader, accusing him of leading them to their deaths. They reminded Moses of how they had asked him to leave them alone in their bondage. At this point they were afraid and all they could see was the large and powerful army bearing down on their camp. Out of fear they forgot that their God was on their side and that He is able to deliver His people out of any negative situation.

Their actions revealed that they did not fully trust God. Faith in the LORD would have looked something like Moses’ response in verses 13 and 14 where he speaks of deliverance and of the LORD fighting on their behalf. He believed that God had a way out. They simply needed to wait and trust in Him. Moses’ response of faith was in direct contrast to the lack of faith demonstrated by the people.

How would you have responded? How do you respond today when life’s troubles pursue and threaten to overtake you? As Christians we know that we should call upon the Lord but how do you respond after you say the word amen? What do your actions reveal about your faith in our Heavenly Father?

Like Christ, Waiting for the Answer

But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool.

Hebrews 10:12-13

Sometimes waiting is hard. As a Christian it’s sometimes hard to maintain my faith as I wait for God to answer a prayer and/or to fulfill one of His promises. Yet, it is important that we all remain patient and wait on God, trusting in His perfect timing. And we’re not the only ones waiting for the Father to do His thing.

Hebrews 10:12-13 tells us that Christ, after offering Himself as a sacrifice for our sins, sat down at the right hand of God. There He waits for the Father to fulfill a promise that is first written in Psalm 110:1.

The Lord said to my Lord,

“Sit at My right hand,

Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.”

Hebrews 10:13 seems to imply that this promise was not yet fulfilled when the verse was written and I believe that it is not yet fulfilled today, at least not here on earth. So Jesus is waiting patiently for the Father to complete the work of making His enemies His footstool and He has been waiting at least since His resurrection. Now that's what I call being patient. Is it possible that we, as His children, can show that same kind of patience?

Random Thoughts for May 31, 2023

Memorial Day 2023

I’m writing this a couple of days after Memorial Day 2023 and as always, I thank God for those who served and died for the United States of America. I have a lot of family members who served in the various branches of our military and quite a few of them served in or near areas of conflict. Fortunately, they all made it back alive but many of their fellow soldiers did not.

This Memorial Day I want to thank all of the Gold Star Families out there for their sacrifice on behalf of our nation. I wish I could thank each of you face to face and give you a big hug. Above all I want you all to know that you are not forgotten.

If you don’t know about our Gold Star Families, please read What is a Gold Star Family? on the USO website.

Uvalde, Texas: One year later

It has been a year since a teenager walked into Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas and killed 19 children and two teachers. 17 other people were injured that day and as mentioned in numerous news stories this month, many questions remain unanswered. While listening to NPR on May 24th I heard interviews with some of the parents of Uvalde as they shared stories of the children they lost. Each story served as a reminder that we lost 21 people that day and that we also lost their dreams and so much more. I heard the pain that is still there as these parents continue (I hope) to heal and as they ask if there is something that can be done to prevent the next school shooting. I also heard a reminder that there is a problem and I fear that in our current political and spiritual climate, we might not be willing to reach for the right solutions.

I do believe that we have a gun problem. We also have a mental health problem. We have a problem of people turning a blind eye, not wanting to look at the signs within their loved ones that they need help. We have a problem because our family units are quite often broken. We have a problem because we have lost our coping mechanisms. We have a problem because (in my opinion) our anti bullying programs seem to fail the very vulnerable populations that they claim to want to protect. But most of all we have a spiritual problem that leaves people feeling empty and hopeless, and (again in my opinion) the blame for that just might fall at the foot of the church.

I suspect there are many of you who disagree with that last sentence and that’s fine. I just ask one thing of you, especially if you are a Christian. Please pray! Seek God and ask His opinion. Let Him guide your heart in how we as the body of Christ should respond to the problem of gun violence in our nation. After all, the church should definitely be about protecting the lives of people in our country.

Do You Pray for People of Other Religions?

Over the next few weeks we will see an overlap of holidays from the three major world religions. From March 23rd until April 22nd Muslims will celebrate Ramadan. Starting on April 5th and running through April 13 Jews will celebrate the Passover. Catholics and many other Christians began celebrating Lent on February 22nd and will continue until April 6th. On April 9th Christians will celebrate Easter with Orthodox Christians celebrating Easter on April 16th. All of these celebrations are important to their respective followers.

Here is a question for you Christians who are reading this right now. Do you pray for people from other religions as they celebrate their respective holidays? I believe that only God can do the work needed to change a person’s heart. What better time to lift others up than during a time when they are focused on seeking a higher power. May God open their eyes that they can see the truth.

Let’s call upon God in Jesus’ name, asking that people around the world would see the truth.

When the Answer to Prayer is Not What You Expect

Over the last few years I have been praying for a family member who has been dealing with a chronic health issue, praying on and off for deliverance which seemed at times to be unlikely. This year I felt moved to begin praying for overall good health, not just about the issue at hand. I expanded the scope of my prayers, asking for the removal of all obstacles to good health. Little did I know that the biggest obstacle was hidden away: a small area of precancerous cells that would be discovered almost by accident.

I say by accident but the discovery was no accident. I believe God directed the search, leading doctors to find this very small patch of cells before they could become something else. I had been praying without knowing the real need, while thinking that changes in diet and other lifestyle changes would help along with a little divine intervention. The real need was surgery and God put us on the right path, leading us to doctors who (under God’s direction) made the right choices. The cells were found by a doctor who is the only one in the region who performs the procedure that led to the discovery and we know that it was God who took us to this doctor in the first place. Fortunately God sees all and His answer, while unexpected, uncovered a hidden issue and likely prevented a much bigger problem.

I could only see the obvious problem, which is what I was praying about. God saw the problem lying beneath the surface. I was asking for what I thought was the biggest health need but God saw an even bigger need. Seeing what we could not, God intervened  and I am thankful. From this I am reminded that while I think I know what I should pray for, God answers with what He knows we need. That’s the key thing we need to remember when God’s answer to prayer is not what we expect. God’s answer, though different from what we would do, is always what’s best.

Random Thoughts for November 11th, 2022

With this week’s midterm elections completed I thought it might be a good time to bring back something I used to do on occasion which I called Random Thoughts. This week I find myself chuckling at our two main political parties as they each put their own spin on the results. The party that lost ground is touting how successful they are in not losing as much as they thought they would. Meanwhile the party that gained ground is looking for a scapegoat to blame for not gaining as much ground as they thought they would. My spin on the results as well as on the way many of this year’s campaigns were conducted is that the only thing we’ve proven is that some people need to grow up.

I trust that everyone who won did so according to God’s will. This always brings me back to the question of why God allows certain people to serve in government, including people with whom God clearly does not agree. I touched on this back in 2017, asking “Did We Elect A Moses or A Pharaoh.” Even people we wouldn’t dream of putting in office serve the purposes of God. Our duty as Jesus’ followers is to pray for those who serve us in government, whether we agree with them or not.

As a Christian, it’s easy to talk a good game but what happens when life challenges our faith? I talked about this earlier this year in “When Faith Becomes Difficult.” Well, of late a number of things have worked together in my life to make faith become difficult. Several unexpected trials have threatened to trip me up in my Christian walk. Thank God for sending us “another helper,” as Jesus promised in John 14:15-16. This helper reminded me of what I should do during times of trial which boils down to praying and to trusting in the Lord with all of my heart (Proverbs 3:5). I do not understand all that is going on but that’s ok because God understands and is in full control.

When Faith Becomes Difficult

Have you ever really thought about the size of a mustard seed? Jesus tells us that with faith the size of a mustard seed we can move mountains (Matthew 17:20). He goes on to promise that nothing will be impossible for the person with this mustard seed size faith. So how big is that faith…I mean…seed? I decided to look it up and it seems as if they are 1mm to 3mm in diameter. That’s small and I imagine their size would make them hard to hold onto. Just imagine what would happen if someone slapped your hand. That tiny seed would likely fall out of your hand and get lost on the ground. To be honest there have been times when life slapped my hand, times when I found it difficult to hold onto my mustard seed size faith.

I recently wrote about having the faith to face a bear or a lion or even Goliath: those tough times when life threatens to tear us apart or to crush us under its weight. Those are the times when I find it most difficult to live by faith. It’s easy to talk a big game, that is until real life calls me out and challenges me to back up my words with real actions. It doesn’t help that so often other Christians make it sound so easy. “Just have faith.” “This too shall pass.” “It’s just a season.” Yes, those sayings are true but that doesn’t make it any easier when life puts you in the fiery furnace. And that’s where you and I must choose. We must choose to hold onto our faith by focusing on the object of that faith: Our God.

I believe that God keeps every one of the promises He makes to His children. But quite often the events of life seem as if they are designed to ask if I really do believe. It’s during those trying times when I find that if I have not established trust in God before the storm, my focus will waiver. It’s then that I find myself focusing on the waves instead of on my Lord. So the best thing I can do is to meditate on the Bible, learning those promises before I actually need them. I need to challenge myself to believe even before my faith gets challenged. Does it make life easy? No, but doing so makes me more likely to remember those promises when I need them most. It also makes it easier to hear the voice of the Spirit of God when He reminds me of those promises, as I learn to look for His hand no matter how tall the waves.

When it comes right down to it, faith is not about my ability to hold onto anything. It’s about building a relationship with God where I learn to trust Him to hold onto me. A relationship where I know He is with me and my trust is greater than my doubts. It’s about a change of heart and mind that comes with surrender to God and is forged while I’m down on my knees before, during and after the trial. As I get better at focusing on God, that mustard seed grows into something I can really hold onto as the power of God is released into my life.

The life of faith in Jesus Christ becomes difficult at the moment we need faith the most. Get to know God while the waters are calm. Continue to learn of Him and to focus on Him even when the going gets tough. As you get to know Him, learning His true nature, you’ll find it easier to hold onto faith in Him even when life threatens to slap your mustard seed sized faith out of your hand.

Yes, But Wait

It has been a few months since I received my diabetes diagnosis. Since then I have heard the word “No!” more often than I expected. Quite often I’ve heard it from my family who gently and lovingly remind me that my diet must change. At times it has also come from my church family, all of whom have my best interest at heart. I’ve also heard myself saying it. For example, I’ve had to tell myself “No!” when I feel the urge to eat seven or ten cookies. The most disappointing “No!” came from my health insurance provider who declined a request for a constant glucose monitor. Among the long list of reasons was something about me not demonstrating an understanding of the need to take glucose readings. (Why else would I want a constant glucose monitor?) But there is One who has not said “No.” Instead, He said “Yes, but you have to wait.”

I received this in answer to my first response after receiving my diagnosis. Okay, maybe it was my second response. My first response was asking myself how I could be so stupid. (For the record diabetes has nothing to do with intelligence.) My second response was to ask God for healing. I even wrote about my healing in my post “All Things Work for the Good: Even Diabetes.” I was ready for a quick turn around, looking forward to that day when I could brag about being healed. But then I “heard” God’s answer. It was not anything audible but God found a way to make His answer clear. As I said in the first paragraph, that answer was, “Yes, but you have to wait.”

In the meantime God wants me to learn to trust in Him as He helps me live in victory over the diagnosis. That’s a little different than being completely healed. It’s a recognition that I am a diabetic but I am not a slave to my condition. God’s grace is sufficient and by His grace I have access to His wisdom when it comes to how I should live. By His grace I am still enjoying life, just with fewer calories. In Christ I’ve been empowered to move my A1C from a 14 to under 7 in less than a year.

I still believe God will heal me of diabetes, if not while I am on this earth than later during the eternal life which He has promised me. Until then, God’s grace is sufficient. (2 Corinthians 12:9)

All Things Work for the Good: Even Diabetes

It was not one of my best posts. I wrote it tongue in cheek but it just seemed to fall flat. In the post I gave myself (and my readers) a challenge. What was that challenge? I challenged everyone to stick to the serving sizes listed on bags of things like potato chips, mentioning how a 3.5oz bag of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos was supposed to be 3.5 servings. I spoke of developing the self discipline to only eat the listed serving size, instead of eating the entire bag in one sitting. Well, as it turns out, I’ve had to develop that self discipline almost overnight after a recent blood test showed that I have diabetes. That was not the diagnosis I wanted to hear but, as in all situations, God is keeping His promise:

“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”

Romans 8:28 (NKJV)

For the record, no I do not believe God gave me diabetes. That would just be weird. I am entirely at fault, having developed a love for Mega Stuffed Oreos: great taste but they can quickly put you over your daily limit of sugar. Chips Ahoy cookies were my second go to but only after they got soaked in a tall glass of almond milk. I won’t go into how many I would eat in one sitting. Let’s just say that some of that lack of self discipline I mentioned in the serving size article has been on full display. I take full responsibility and admit that I alone (perhaps with a little help from my genetics) am the problem.

But, as they say, every cloud has a silver lining or as we Christians say: Romans 8:28! Actually I guess God said it when He inspired the writer of Romans to put pen to paper but we Christians get the blessing of knowing that Romans 8:28 is true. All things do work together for good for those who love God. Why? Well because God has ordained it to be so and it is true even with my diabetes.

I needed a kick in the behind to get me thinking about my health and about a goal I set for myself years ago. I promised myself that I will do everything I can to get into and stay in good physical shape, in order to be able to serve God for many years to come without any physical hindrance. I also want to be able to do things with friends and family, without being short of breath or limited in any other physical way. Unfortunately I have not been doing a good job of keeping that promise to myself. There’s always that distraction keeping me from exercising or the fact that I am too lazy to bother checking the serving size of what I eat. With diabetes, I received the kick in the bottom that I needed to get me to exercise and, yes, to check and stick to the right serving size. (I haven’t had Flamin’ Hot Cheetos since the diagnosis. If I do. I will count out my 21 pieces.)

Here’s the biggest blessing that will come from this. You see, I believe that God still heals. One day I will get to testify of how my LORD healed me and of how He gives me the wisdom to live in His healing. I’ll always carry the diagnosis but I will do so in the light of Romans 8:28, looking forward to telling others of how He fulfilled what is said in His Bible. All things work together for good. This is true in my situation and, if you love God and are called according to His purpose, it will also be true in whatever situation you find yourself dealing with.

See also “One, Two or Three Servings?”

How God Blessed Us Since September 2020

Well...let’s see...A lot has happened since the last time I wrote about how God is blessing me and my family. Last year around this time we were dealing with the fact that my wife had just been furloughed and then offered another job at a significant pay cut. It was an unpleasant turn of events but God promised to provide for all of our needs and He continued to do so. Our bills were paid. We were still blessed and were able to be a blessing to others during Christmas. With God’s peace to sustain us we were able to move forward according to His perfect will.

I also mentioned in last September’s post that there were opportunities presenting themselves (thank you to those who answered my call for prayer). A friend reached out to my wife to tell her about a job opening at another company. We prayed but felt that this just was not God’s will, even though the salary would have been close to what she made before the furlough. Passing up a salary increase is never easy and this one came with the promise that we could go back to a way of life to which we had grown accustomed. But the more we prayed and listened for God’s guidance, the more we felt that this easy path was not the right path.

If you are a believer you’ve likely heard some variation of how God’s “No” means He has something better in store. I can’t explain how but God said this very thing to me, not audibly but in a way that I had no doubt that it was His voice. He was saying no to this job opportunity, with the promise of something better. He even gave me a glimpse of the future by naming a salary, one that would be a significant increase over what my wife used to make. I admit, at the time I was not sure if the number was from God or if it was just me wanting an increase in our household income but by faith I wrote the number in my journal and we moved forward waiting for God’s plan to unfold.

Early this year a recruiter reached out to my wife with another job opportunity. Her name had been suggested by a former coworker (and family friend)  who knew that my wife was qualified for the position and over qualified for the job she was working during the furlough. At about the same time, my wife’s old job was phased out, turning the furlough into something permanent. The interview process went smoothly and she was offered the job. We believed this was an open door but there was just one problem. The salary did not match the number I heard in my spirit. It was close but not the same. At this point I had not told my wife the exact number. I had only told her that I thought God had promised an increase.

Well, during the final salary negotiations this new company came back with a different salary proposal. Guess what! This number was what God said it would be, down to the exact cent. Had we jumped at the first opportunity, we would have missed out on what God had already promised. By waiting we got to see Him keep His promises: both His promise to provide during the furlough and His promise of something better at the end of the furlough.

As I wrote a year ago, Christians suffer loss just like everyone else but we are blessed with God’s peace to help us  endure. We also live knowing that God has it all under control. 

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.

Proverbs 3:5-6 (NKJV)

Last year’s post can be found here: How God Blessed Us in September

They Were Outside in Prayer

How's your prayer life? How about your church's prayer life. I ask because it seems like time and time again when there is a life changing event there are also people praying. It's as if God orchestrates His timing in such a way that His biggest blessings are received when His people seek Him in prayer. So if your prayer life or your church's prayer life are off, you might be missing out.

I wonder if Zacharias and Elizabeth understood the blessings of prayer before John was born. I suspect that they did. After all, Luke tells us that "...they were both righteous before God." (Luke 1:7). I suspect anyone who is counted as righteous likely has a good prayer life. We know from the faith chapter (Hebrews 11) that faith factors in as well. So most likely Zacharias and Elizabeth were people of faith who, although left without a child, continued to believe in God and to lift up prayers of faith in their Lord God.

And so it was that while Zacharias was alone fulfilling His duties in the temple that he was surprised by the appearance of an angel (Luke 1:11-12). As exciting and impressive as this is, it's important that we don't overlook what was going on outside the temple while Zacharias was inside. The Bible tells us that while Zacharias was inside the temple the people were outside praying (Luke 1:10). Remember the chain of events that is about to happen. Zecharias sees an angel and learns that he will have a son. This son was to be unique and would prepare the way for the savior of the world. What are the people of God doing as God's plans are revealed by an angel? They are praying!

Furthermore the angel tells Zacharias that his prayer has been answered. Prayer was an important part of God's plan. It was important that Zacharias and Elizabeth be people of prayer even though his faith was not perfect. It was important that the people were praying. How do we know it's important? We know because the Bible mentions these prayers. Were they all praying for Zacharias to have a son? I doubt it and I doubt Zacharias and Elizabeth were praying for someone like John. But it was important that they were praying and their prayers put them all in position to witness God in action.

I do not think it a coincidence that the people were praying when the angel appeared. I believe that an individual and a church that are dedicated to prayer will get many chances to see God in action today. So I ask again, how is your prayer life? How is your church's prayer life? Are you missing out?