Our God Is in Control

Carolyn
“This is not how it should be.
This is not how it could be.
But this is how it is.
And our God is in control.
This is not how it will be
When we finally will see
We’ll see with our own eyes
He was always in control.
And we’ll sing Holy, Holy, Holy is our God
And we will finally, really understand what it means.
So we’ll sing Holy, Holy, Holy is our God
While we’re waiting for that day…
Our God is in control.”
Steven Curtis Chapman
If you read my blog, you may have seen we were praying for a friend who had brain cancer. He lost that battle last Wednesday night after 10 months. We traveled to the funeral in Tennessee on Saturday.
My husband has lost a close friend, someone who enjoyed hiking the world with him. I feel the loss, too. Jeff was patient, kind, gracious, humble. He lived as a man of God and honored Him in life and death.
We will miss Jeff.  We don’t understand why, but we know so many people prayed and asked God to spare his life, but God had other plans. One day we will see and understand. Today though, we trust Him. We trust our heavenly Father who is good and loves us. Can I praise Him in this, as I praise Him when I see healing here on earth? Yes, Lord, I praise and bless You. “You give and take away; my heart will choose to say, Lord, blessed be Your Name.”
Thank you, Father, for the hope of heaven, that Jeff is not dead, but alive with You. We know we will see him again! He is healed now fully and experiencing what we can only begin to imagine, all because of Jesus and Jeff’s faith in Him. Thank you for saving faith, resurrection life. We grieve with hope. Thank you, Jesus.
“We can cry with hope,
We can say goodbye with hope,
‘Cause we know that good-bye is not the end.
And we can grieve with hope,
‘Cause we believe with hope,
There’s a place where we’ll see your face again.”
Steven Curtis Chapman

Which Is More Amazing?

Carolyn

I’ve had this thought lately.

Which is more amazing? The fact that the God of the universe, our Creator and Savior, would care so intimately for us, would stoop to us, would invite us near to Him and His throne of grace, would assure us that when we draw near, He draws near to us — wow, what a thought! I think of all the passages in Scripture that tell us when His people cry out, He hears and answers and delivers. Just reading the Psalms the other day, I was struck again by this, not to mention the times I see it in the Old Testament as He would deliver His people Israel.

So which is more amazing? That our God cares for us in this way and gives us the privilege of prayer and of communing with Him — or the fact that I so often refuse?

I sometimes sleep late or resist getting out of bed to read and pray. I let other thoughts consume my mind during a day. I get busy, spend too much time on the computer, and the list goes on — and I forfeit those moments of time spent with the Lord. Moments of prayer, moments of my day given to Him. The very thing that most brings peace and joy to my day, I often miss.

Do you ever do that, too? So which do you think is more amazing? His seeking or our resisting of such an incredible invitation?

Prayer

Carolyn

With my theme for the year being prayer, it’s on my mind a lot, and I have a feeling my blog posts may center around this often this year. Here is something that happened this past week.

My friend called me one afternoon asking me to pray for her 6-month old niece who was being diagnosed with a serious form of cancer on her hand called a sarcoma. Her parents were being told that an amputation might be necessary, but it could be worse. They were waiting to do the biopsy which would help them know how best to treat it. There was hope that possibly chemotherapy would be effective.

We joined them in praying. As I was running errands that same evening, I was praying aloud, hoping to be focused in prayer for them. As I prayed for many things surrounding these circumstances, there was a passage of Scripture that came to my mind clearly. Psalm 18. This was the only one that came to mind during the prayer, but was very clear. I was thinking of the early verses knowing God is our Rock.

When I pulled into the Chick-fil-a drive through (a far too common experience for me, I might add!), I looked at the car in front of me, and they had on their license plate “Psalm 18:6.” I felt for sure the Lord was speaking through this.

That portion of Scripture is about death encompassing David, but he cries out to the Lord and is heard and delivered. Now I didn’t know what to make exactly of it, but loved the reminder that in crying out to God, He hears.

Later that week, I got a call from my friend. She said they had just learned that the biopsy had shown it was not cancer! Rather, it was something very rare that the doctor had only seen one other time in 35 years — it was an aneurysm in her hand which would completely heal!

Who knows God’s ways, whether He healed her or gave another diagnosis because of the many prayers for her — or whether it was this way all along and He wanted those involved to walk through it for good and glorious purposes (or both or more?!). But what I do know is that He heard the cries of His children. I do know that through prayer, I got a window into His heart and saw the story differently than had I simply received a call to pray, said a brief prayer, carried on, and then heard she was fine. Praying opened my eyes to see God at work and to trust Him more.

I am encouraged to keep bringing my requests before Him. I know He doesn’t always answer each situation the same way, but He does seem to speak and lead in the midst of them. And that is a mercy, a grace, a peace, a comfort. God — living, breathing, caring, loving, involved!

Part of prayer includes praise, and that is what I want to do tonight — praise Him!

A Year in Song: 2011

Carolyn

The Lord often speaks to me through music. These are a few songs that I want to remember from 2011 that really ministered to me at specific times. Out of context, maybe they seem strange, but they all came at very specific times and helped direct and strengthen me.

Josh Wilson “I Refuse”: Though he wrote this after a natural disaster and his desire to do something, for me, it was a reminder to not refuse what God would ask me to do, to be obedient. It always played at key moments, right on time, right when I needed the encouragement and reminder.
Matthew West “Strong Enough”: These next two songs from Matthew West and Mandisa about strength helped remind me of the Lord’s strength and that the things that seemed hard would in fact bring growth and make me stronger.
Mandisa “Stronger”
David Crowder Band “SMS”: I was listening to this “Show me a sign” and praying for that, for wisdom. I’d wished I had someone to give me counsel. The phone rang during the song as I prayed. My lifelong friend from Arkansas was on the phone, and she and her husband, a pastor, gave me the exact counsel I needed! Praise the Lord!

And one last one about new beginnings, “Listen to the Sound” by Building 429: this also came at an exact moment when I was waiting, thinking, and then listening and heard this.

I’ve never thought to write about my year through music like I do themes, but I think I’ll start doing this. These songs remind me of God’s faithfulness to me, for some of the ways He shepherded me along, and for His continuing love and direction in my life. He provided abundantly well, and I praise Him!