So I worry. I look at the tropical weather report. I anxiously look to see where Harvey is predicted to track. And I pray. I beg and beseech God to intervene and to steer the storms away from me. But yesterday the wrongness of my fear began to impress my heart. God KNOWS what I need....and even if I lose everything--like the people in Houston--He is still God; He is still good; He is still sufficient; if He is all I have, then that is enough. And I hear His voice quietly asking, "Am I enough for you Cynthia?" "Can you not face anything if I am in your center?"
The question often troubled me: Were there not people in Houston, praying as sincerely as I have been? I'm sure there were. So WHY then did God not answer their prayers and how is it that I think and believe He will answer mine? And I think God has given me the answer to that question. Yes, they suffered terrible loss and there is much tragedy. But God has assured me that He is providing Grace and meeting daily needs for His people. He is giving them individual mercy--even though the big picture is very bad. And some of them probably are being schooled by God through this to see that truly He is all they need.
Today's devotion by Joni Eareckson Tada was based on these verses: "Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior." Habakkuk 3:17-18
Rejoicing in the midst of loss, heartache and an uncertain future is a CHOICE. And two of the statements that God has given me in this past year are:
"God will not lead you where the Grace of God cannot keep you" and "What God does not take us from, He will take us through."
It's a matter of choosing to trust; choosing to rejoice and of asking God to carry us day by day, minute by minute.
And something else has occurred to me today. The story of the "Fiery Furnace" is a classic tale of God's provision. But do we really think about the courage and faith it took for Daniel's three friends to respond this way:
Daniel 3:16-18 (NKJV)16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 17 If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. 18 But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.”Yes, it took a lot of courage and trust to respond this way. They were SURE of the ability of God to save them.....but they were willing to say that regardless of how it turned out, they would choose to believe in and obey God. And what did God do? He did not whisk them out of harm's way. NO....He allowed them to actually be thrown into the flames...and THEN God saved them!! Not only that, but He visited with them in person amidst that fire!! So storms may come. But my God will provide and will save in the long run. "Worst" thing? That would be not to survive the storm....but really that is an awesome thing because then I get to see my Lord and be with Him forever. So God is able to stop a storm (and I confess, that is still my first choice) but even if He doesn't--He is still God. He is still Good, and He will meet our needs a moment at a time. People of Texas: You are in the school of Pain (as Andrew Murray calls it) but God will bring you through this if you trust Him to. I grieve your losses....but really, you have some things to gain too: a certainty of God's love and provision; greater, stronger faith and a level of intimacy with the Almighty that you never imagined was possible. You are all in my prayers. |
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