Prayer requests

 

Whether it's cancer, cataracts, or crisis, God is in control. This will be one of the themes that we will find in our study of Habakkuk.

I told someone recently that I just don't know how I would face things without our Father God. Treatments, fears, frustrations . . . how do people do it without the Lord? 

There are times that we feel strong in our faith. We know that we know He is with us, as I heard a pastor say some years ago. But then the side effects come. The wait in the lonely radiation or chemo room. The seemingly interminable wait for bandages to come off our eyes. The long nights of chronic pain pile up. Whatever health issue we are facing, there are times when it just seems too much to bear.

We may wonder, "Is God really in control?"

Well, the answer is definitely "Yes!"

God is in charge. He does not enjoy seeing His children suffer. He weeps when we weep, and He hurts when we hurt. And He knows that this health issue has thrown a "monkey wrench" into our plans and our lives. It's brought us face to face with the fact that WE are not in control. 

Here's a verse that is well worn and sometimes misquoted:

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)

There is nothing that happens that God can't use. Good things. Bad things. Hurtful things. Doctors making mistakes. Test results that disappoint. Low cell counts. Chronic pain.

God wouldn't be God if He could only use some things for good. If He could only use some things to work out His purposes. But He is in control. And He can use every stupid, or evil, or destructive thing to work good -- just as easily as He can use the good stuff.

If we could see the purpose He was working, it might be easier to handle things, no? How in the world do we work our crises into good things? We're just hanging on by our fingernails! The beauty of it is this: it's not our job to figure out how He will shine through us to help someone else. It's not our job to know how He is changing our lives and our souls and to help with the process. That's His job. He can use our crises, our health, our chronic pain, or whatever we are facing, to draw people closer to Him in ways we might never know. He can use these things to mold us into the people He wants us to be. All we have to do is hang on tightly to His hand!

Our Father knows what is good, and He knows that we need that good. He will bring blessings from these burdens, and hope from these hardships. Resting in His arms, we can be assured that our situation has purpose -- God's purpose is for His glory to be revealed in us.

I hope that if you are walking in a valley today, you will post a comment and allow us all the privilege of praying with you. If you are rejoicing on the mountaintop of answered prayer, please encourage all of us by leaving a comment to tell us.

Let's pray.