Kristie posted an interesting thought about God and our circumstances.
I wrote a comment on her blog and didn't realize it but I ended up blogging!
Here is her post. Look down for my response under the dotted line.
Here is a poem I wrote a long time ago about walking on the road God created for us.
I'd love to hear other thoughts either on my comments or her comments or on your blog. Please let me know where to find your thoughts. :-)
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(Thinking that God is bigger than our circumstances) is a dangerous one for some people. Many people take that to mean that if they believe hard enough and pray hard enough that God WILL deliver them from a certain thing/illness/person. That false expectation can cause them to think God failed them if they aren't delivered from a certain situation.
I've thought about this and have come to this conclusion. God knows what is going to happen in our lives. It is up to us to know that our lives here on earth are temporary.
For instance, I grew up in a church where it was believed that if we pray in faith believing that God WILL heal a person, then He WILL heal them. Well, guess what...That's not true. I don't believe that because I've seen that fail, time and again.
There are children all over the world who truly believe God will heal them or their parents or get them out of "Hitler's" hands but they die anyway. I don't think God failed them. I think that way of thinking failed. That's a falsehood propagated by wishful thinkers.
We all have to die. I've come to the conclusion that instead of praying for healing, we need to pray for God's will because maybe it's just time to die.
If we want something I suppose we can pray for it because He said "you have not because you ask not" but the question is...What are we asking for? Where are we spiritually when we ask it? If we are right with Him, He will help us go through the hard times and maybe we will know what to pray for instead of fumbling for our wants. Our wants aren't what he gives. He gives us our needs. He doesn't have to deliver us from "it", but He will carry us through "it."
Mostly, when I go through sad events or hard tasks in life I say, "Thank you God for being here for me to look toward and lean on. If I don't make it through this one, Thank You for the knowing that this is nothing compared to eternity. At least I know where I'm headed in the long run."
I don't know if I'm wording it right. Cutting to the chase of my thinking...
"God is NOT bigger than our circumstances. He IS our circumstances. He's there in them, He knew they were coming, He knows how it ends and He knows why we are there. He MADE the road we're walking on. NOTHING is too Big and NOTHING is too strong for Him to help us through. He just allows it to happen and we are at His will to go through it.
We may ask for healing, or deliverance or something else, but in the end, He's going to give us what we need to go to Heaven.
That's my thinking anyway. I'd love to hear other thoughts. This is a good one Kristie!
7 comments:
so many thoughts...i'll blog it myself sometime soon. The one thing I will say is that 'it is what it is.' You can't deny grief of any kid- but you can acknowledge God at the same time. Believing God is in control does NOT mean that you are not 'feeling' the pain.' hmmmm... more thoughts but other stuff to finish up at the moment.
Shelly,
Thanks for your comment on my post. I wrestle with these kinds of thoughts sometimes and I appreciate your input. Yes, God is our circumstances. That's it exactly.
Thank you for that. I will be digesting that one for a while.
I am very much aware of the fact that there is a very fine line between faith and denial :-)
*Kristie*
Amy you are so right. There were so many days and nights that I just cried and cried and felt totally alone...and that was just over having a broken leg and being home bound for 3 months. I felt as though I would never be the same, And...I'm not.
I hurt, my walk is different, I can't walk up and down stairs very well. But more than that I know that God is there because He was there to talk with and lean on during that time. So, I've changed spiritually too. I've found that "Change is good." I am more compassionate and empathetic when people are harmed now. When I hear about a car crash and the words from the newsperson are "there were no fatalities, there were 2 injuries" I feel horrible because that means someone is suffering. It's like I feel their pain emotionally. Anyway, blah blah...I think I've grown and maybe that's what God wanted from that whole ordeal. So...change is good. :-)
Kristie,
I grapple with so many questions and thoughts also. It overwhelms me sometimes. I'll stop there. LOL
I'm typing too much! :-)
Over the years, our prayer group has had this conversation several times.
God is our circumstances. He is completely in control. He does what He says and cannot lie.
However, that being said, it doesn't always turn out the way we think it should and may look like He is not doing what He said he would.
One of the dear sisters in our group was praying for someone in the hospital and God told her that He healed the person in the bed. She announced that at about the instant that the person died. Her daughter pulled her out to the hall and told her that the person passed and she saw them taken by the angels.
God did heal that person but NOT HERE. That person is now in the place of no crying, no pain, no disease . . . that to me is healed.
http://rdisuperparents.blogspot.com/2007/10/personal-thoughtshealing.html
i forgot i had already written one...still think i will re-do at some point....
Shelly this was such an amazing post to read today.
This past month and a half has been a roller coaster on our faith as a family.
I have actually gotten to the point where I feel honored that God would choose me to endure the things I have been through.
It will benefit someone, even if its just that I now understand the pain of going through problems while homeschooling and being so young.
Suffering is so real, I remember when you broke your leg, you were a lot of strength for me because I had a "just sprained" knee at the same time.
God has chosen to allow me to go through many trials in my life, especially in my health and even up to the present. He is still in control of the circumstances though and we do grow daily from our struggles. Yesterday's Keys for Kids was a really good example of how God uses our struggles you can find it here http://cbh.gospelcom.net/kfk/
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