I was just listening to Beth Moore's "A Quick Word" for today (see the link on my sidebar). She talks today about our need to recognize our dependence on God, and how going through trials reminds us of that (see my blog from Tuesday....do you think God's trying to tell me something???)
She talks about healing and said that many times God seems to choose to heal over time instead of instantaneously. Why would He do that?? If He has the power to heal our bodies (or change our circumstances) in the snap of a finger, why would he drag it out? Or not do it at all? Maybe, just maybe, God is more interested in the condition of our hearts.... if we are immediately healed from sickness, or receive whatever we ask for, quite often we say "thanks God!" and then dash out the door. Don't we? Come on, you know we do. I do it all the time.
Could it be that God uses (not necessarily causes, but uses) trials in our lives to draw us close to Himself? His greatest desire is to be close to us, to love us, to provide for us, to be our everything (Andy Gibb? anyone? anyone?)
"Shout for joy, O heavens; rejoice, O earth; burst into song, O mountains! For the LORD comforts his people and will have compassion on his afflicted ones. But Zion said, "The LORD has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me."
"Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands..." Isaiah 49:13-16
I can personally attest that the times in my life where I have drawn closest to Him, where my faith and intimacy in the Lord has been strongest, have been in times of brokenness. When there seemed no way out, no end in sight. Where I have been lost enough to let myself be led.
It doesn't take a huge tragedy to reach this point of dependency (and I pray that it doesn't!) because the more I pay attention, the more I realize that I wake up every morning in a state of complete and utter dependence on God - whether I recognize it or not. But the greatest growth and blessings come when I do.
"This is the air I breathe
This is the air I breathe
Your holy presence
Living in me
This is my daily bread
This is my daily bread
Your very Word
Spoken to me
And I, I'm desperate for You
And I, I'm lost without You"
I was looking for where the verse in the Bible for this verse "see I have engraved you in the palm of my hands" and I found your thoughts. So fitting for what I am going through right now with my health, a husband with out a job, among other things in my life...I do not know what today or tomorrow may bring but I know who who does! Thank you for encouraging me today! May God continue to bless you day by day!
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