It seems my blog posts come along when I'm working through some more serious thoughts. If you'd like to see the fun and humor in my life, check out my Facebook page which is full of all the silly antics of Jonathan, Liam, Achilles, and Penelope. Life is fun, but life is also serious. I watched a TedX talk (via Jamie the Very Worst Missionary) from a woman who has struggled extensively with addictions - she used a term to describe the composite that life is - it's beautiful, and it's brutal. So she called it, brutiful. That concept has really helped me be able to enjoy the awesome blessings I have in my life, right along side the pain and the challenges. I used to think about life as being made up of seasons - some were good (ah, that golden summer), some were hard, real hard (winter of '10). But I guess I'm figuring out that if I don't appreciate and acknowledge both the blessings and the challenges that often come all at once, I will likely (since I tend toward the serious) let the difficulties crush the joys - or, in a swing in the other direction, ignore the pains and miss what the Lord can accomplish in the challenges.
But that's not really the point of this post :). Just the backdrop.
This is the lesson I keep getting over and over again as I grapple with one particular suffering - a shared suffering (to quote a childhood sing along's version of 1 Corinthians 12:26 "when one member suffers, all the members suffer...") with a friend :
Pray and don't give up.
I'm the kind of person that likes to fix. When confronted with crisis, I take action. I learned that from my Mom :). If someone has an injury, I go right into triage - stabilize, assess, and usually call in the necessary help or take the necessary action. I figure out what needs to be done first, and then process the emotions later. This same pattern I apply to other sorts of crises also. It has been really helpful for some situations to have this kind of response. When I've been the only one to step up and call the ambulance, when you're the one (and when I say one, I don't really mean one. My Mom and Dad, and a sister will usually be in on the deal :)) who shows up at the hospital, or mental hospital, when the whole world seems to want to just ignore that something awful has just happened. I love that the Lord has given me grace to do these things and equipped me in this way.
But.
I am having to learn a new way. Sometimes there are things to be done, things to be said, meals to be made, books to be sent, thoughts to be shared... and sometimes, there is a process. And Oh, that I would learn the discipline, the every day, knowing or not knowing, rain or shine, discipline of prayer! This is what I keep hearing over and over again, every time I want to just rush in and "fix" things for the people I love who are suffering right now:
Pray, and do not give up.
"Because I love Zion, I will not keep still. Because my heart yearns for Jerusalem, I cannot remain silent. I will not stop praying for her until her righteousness shines like the dawn, and her salvation blazes like a burning torch." Isaiah 62:1
"And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up." Galatians 6:9
"So many are saying, "God will never rescue him!" But you, O Lord, are a shield around me; you are my glory, the one who holds my head high. I cried out to the Lord, and he answered me from his holy mountain." Psalm 3:2-3
"Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep praying." Romans 12:12
Psalm 33:11 "But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever the purposes of his heart through all generations."
From Psalty, the singing songbook, on what can be accomplished through faith-filled prayer:
"Mountain, you must go! Mountain, you can't stay! See what mustard seed sized faith can do when the Spirit works inside of you - and you'll grow, and you'll grow, whoa whoa whoa..."
There are a few things that we always know are in keeping with the Father's heart - and so we can pray in confidence that He is eager to act. 1. For the salvation of anyone and everyone. 1 Timothy 2:3-4 "This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth." 2. For the health and Reconciliation of Marriage - Jesus himself said "and the two are united into one.' Since they are no longer two but one, let no one split apart what God has joined together." The key part of this verse for me is that the Lord is the one who joined a particular man and a woman together to be married (yes, man and woman, see vs. 6 & 7). It is His heart for marriage to succeed, to last, to be healthy... 3. For Life and Health. Exodus 15:26 - very simply put - it is the very name of God to heal our sickness and disease and give us life: "For I am the Lord who heals you."
Something the Lord has shown me recently to set aside - "if it be Your will." Where did that even come from? That is not how Jesus taught us to pray. He taught us to pray with confidence and authority - to pray for those things that we know are God's heart and say "Your will be done." The end!
I was digging around in some reading this afternoon to uncover more thoughts on divine healing (aforementioned item #3) - and came across some things that spoke to me:
"The promises of God and the revelations of his concern for man's physical needs have always far outstripped man's faith to receive them." (Foundations of Pentecostal Theology)
Which echoes a word from Andrew Murray I read the other night (from Abide in Christ):
"Oh, it is because the blessing is so great that our little hearts cannot rise to apprehend it..."
Please don't let these two quotes hang you up - the point isn't that you have to muster up a greater faith - the point is that the blessings and promises are real, and are so far greater than what we have come to expect. So, I think that's why I'm walking through these points - because I need to really know what I should be able to expect. What is the will of God and the heart of God that I can confidently call on. Stated in another way:
"It is impossible to boldly claim by faith a blessing which we are not sure God offers... faith begins where the will of God is known." (Fred Francis Bosworth)
It's not believing something that makes it true. Having faith is agreeing that something is already true.
How do we know what the true will of God is?
Scripture.
1 Corinthians 1:20 "For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. And so through him the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God."
Whatever promise you find in the Bible - every single one belongs to you. So this is how we ought to pray! Claim and speak the "Amen" - the agreement, the calling it true - regarding that particular truth or promise for your own life (and more importantly, for other people's lives!). And if you don't know what the truth is, go looking for it. God is the truth and He is not far from each one of us.
There is more to be said on this, more to learn about this - but I think now is the time to share this part, and I will continue to press in and unpack where this is going and what it means. These concepts have been completely new to me in the last year, so I am still learning! I invite you to comment as these are thoughts in progress!
