I was sitting in church one Sunday and the thought came to me. “Are you willing to praise the Lord even if the healing doesn't come? Are you willing to love the Lord even if your prayers are not answered in the way you think they should be answered?”
Walking in Faith
These are some pretty thought provoking questions. As you know, I have been living with daily head and neck pain for years now. And as I apply these questions to my particular situation it becomes quite challenging to my faith. Many people have walked away from their faith in frustration when they have felt as though their prayers were not being heard or they were not seeing the physical evidence of God moving in a particular situation. One thing I am learning is that the kingdom of God is not about giving us what we want when we want it. The kingdom of God is not a made to order restaurant. It’s not Burger King. We can’t have it our way. Now, don’t misunderstand me here, I am not saying that we will never see the desires of our hearts. But what we will see is God moving in our situations for a greater purpose than we have the capacity to see with our limited natural vision. As humans our vision is limited to the physical realm. There will be moments however, when God will show us occasional glimpses into the realm of the spirit, tiny glances of what He is doing. However, there will be times, in fact most of the time, when the Lord will not speak a word about His plans or purposes. This is where faith comes into play. The Lord is calling us to have faith that He knows what He is doing even if we do not know what He is doing. Following God does not mean we have to know each and every little detail of the journey. It just means we have to trust the one who is leading.
These are some pretty thought provoking questions. As you know, I have been living with daily head and neck pain for years now. And as I apply these questions to my particular situation it becomes quite challenging to my faith. Many people have walked away from their faith in frustration when they have felt as though their prayers were not being heard or they were not seeing the physical evidence of God moving in a particular situation. One thing I am learning is that the kingdom of God is not about giving us what we want when we want it. The kingdom of God is not a made to order restaurant. It’s not Burger King. We can’t have it our way. Now, don’t misunderstand me here, I am not saying that we will never see the desires of our hearts. But what we will see is God moving in our situations for a greater purpose than we have the capacity to see with our limited natural vision. As humans our vision is limited to the physical realm. There will be moments however, when God will show us occasional glimpses into the realm of the spirit, tiny glances of what He is doing. However, there will be times, in fact most of the time, when the Lord will not speak a word about His plans or purposes. This is where faith comes into play. The Lord is calling us to have faith that He knows what He is doing even if we do not know what He is doing. Following God does not mean we have to know each and every little detail of the journey. It just means we have to trust the one who is leading.
Needs Vs. Wants
The kingdom of God is not about giving us what we want, it’s about giving us what we need. The distance between our wants and our needs can be a vast canyon that may never actually cross paths with one another. What can sometimes cause us much frustration in this walk of faith is the simple definition of the word need. God’s definition of the word need, and our definition of the word need often times do not even come close to lining up. Our definition of the word need will usually stem from some form of an emotion with something. For example, when I started this particular journey, my prayer was "Lord, I need you to heal my body." Emotionally, all I could do was focus on my "need" for a physical healing. Instead of healing my pain, the Lord has shown me what the true needs are. The issues of the heart and mind were the needs that have superseded the healing of my physical body. What I have learned is this, whether or not the Lord ever heals my body is not the point here. The Lord sees the need to heal my heart, and to heal the way I think and perceive particular situations. This healing has brought about a much needed eternal perspective in my life that would not have come about if the Lord had just taken away my pain. This is a healing I am so deeply thankful for!
I could have easily walked away in frustration over the fact that God did not “heal” me yet. But what would that accomplish other than allowing the devil to win the victory over my life? And there is no way I am handing my life over that easily! God is not done with me yet and I know that. So healing or no healing, the walk is not over and there is more work to be done. So it is pointless for me to grovel in the thoughts that God has not “healed” me. In all honestly, He already has healed me by the sheer fact that He has done some massive reconstructive surgery on my heart and on my mind because of this journey.
I would like you to stop and think about your own life for just a moment. Is there something in your life you have been asking God to do for you? Are you willing to praise the Lord even if that particular thing never takes place? Are you willing to love the Lord even if He never answers your prayer for that situation in the way you think He should? These are challenging questions. As you take the time to ponder them I will be praying that God brings healing to your heart and mind on this journey. It is a challenging journey, but one that will bring about a true blessing if you allow the Lord to work out some things in your life.
Lord, I thank you that you are faithful to complete a good work in us even when it is not what we think we need. I thank you that you know the true eternal needs for us and that those are the things you desire to work out in our lives far above the temporal things of this life. Help us to gain eternal perspective as we search out the answers to these challenging questions. As we ponder these questions may our walks be more solidified and steadfast! I pray that you work in us the things that can not be shaken, the things that can not be moved, the things that are eternal and the things that can not be destroyed. Have your way in our lives Lord. Take care of our needs.
I thank God that he desires for us to share every little thought and concern with him. I am thankful that his word says that he hears our prayers, but if he was never to answer another prayer would I have the determination to serve him always. Was his work on the cross enough for me to lay down my life, entire life beginning to end, to him. If we truly can rejoice in our salvation daily then the response to our prayers is of no consequence. We should praise him as if he has already answered every prayer. Our hearts should be so full from being redeemed, from being called out of darkness into his marvelous light.
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