"My grace is sufficient for you..." That's something I had to remind myself over and over again in the first week of Mom's stroke. I vacillated from "my worry" to "God's grace" over and over again. "You take it, God" I'd pray. He would... then I'd take it back! "No God, you handle this..." He would and then in my humaness I'd take it back again. Each time I'd ask, though, he'd give me all the grace I needed for the moment. Not grace for tomorrow, not for next week, but just for the moment.
It just dawned on me today that this week has had a new focus. Instead of living from one breath to the next, from hour to hour, and from test to test, our focus has taken a turn: We're looking ahead!
Now the focus has shifted to God's promise of a hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11). God has plans for all of us...plans to prosper and not to harm...plans to give us a hope and a future. Most people stop there. But in Jeremiah, the LORD continues on to declare even better things. "Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you," declares the LORD.
I'm struck by a couple of thoughts when I ponder this promise. First of all, God declared this promise - he announced, made clear, officially stated, emphatically said - this promise! There are no doubts, conditions, ifs, ands, or buts! It's official.
Secondly, God's idea of something great is always better than our idea of something great. God does promise that he has plans for us and a future...and we like that. (Now that's sounding like something that we've been praying for, huh?) But God's idea of something really good is that we will call upon Him...come to Him..and pray to Him. We will seek Him but better yet, we will find Him! What could be better than finding God?
So even though we're now "looking ahead" instead of surviving moment to moment, we're not forgetting that God's idea of great plans are better than any plans we can conceive.
We rejoice at Mom's accomplishments this week: walking with assistance, transferring from bed to wheelchair with just a bit of help, speaking in sentences and learning to compensate for a weakened right side. We rejoice that Mom is "looking ahead" and can ask, "When will I go home?" We rejoice that Mom can tell us what she wants for dinner and which jammies she wants to wear. But most of all, we are "looking ahead" to all the good things that God has planned for us that we haven't even thought of.
It just confirms to us that life cannot grind to a halt during troubled times. We must adjust and keep moving. We are reminded that God knows the future, provides the agenda, and goes with us as we fulfill his mission. This doesn't mean that we will be spared from pain or suffering, but it does mean that God will see us through to a glorious conclusion. Because of that promise, we keep looking ahead...
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2 comments:
Audi ... Your last comment touched me with inspiration, conviction, and direction. It even gave me an idea about doing a SS lesson (I teach an adult class @ my church) on Jer. 29: 10-14. But I digress.
We have a lovely painting in our home, done by a friend of ours, depicting Jesus in the boat with His Disciples, calming the storm. I love that NT passage where Jesus sent His followers out onto the waters, knowing full well that they would encounter the storm. And in the midst of the storm, they were bigtime afraid; and when Jesus came to them, walking on the water, they didn't recognize Him. But then they did, and you know the story of "foot-in-the-mouth" Peter impulsively walking out on the water in faith and then sinking in fear, only to be rescued by His Lord, who then stepped into the boat and with a wave of His hand calmed the seas.
Actually, when it comes to being in the midst of troubles in life, I think there is more contextual power in the promises and principles of this NT lesson than from the Jeremiah passage in the OT.
But both of them should remind us of the truth of Deut. 31: 8, where God will not only never leave us, but He goes ahead of us to forge the way for us. And yes, that path in life can involve storms along the way; but He will always be there in the midst of the storm to pull us into the boat and calm the way before us.
Thanks, Audi, for reminding me of these wonderful lessons; and tell your mom that your old boss is learning a lot from his younger student/teacher (you) in all of this. And also tell tell her that her storm and her faith can teach us all some great lessons ...
Love, ... Bill
What a change two weeks can bring! Two weeks ago our family got together and determined that Mom's wishes about not having a CODE BLUE issued in case of a need for extra-ordinary measures to save her life when the result might be a meaningless vegetative life should be conveyed to the staff at the Intensive Care Unit.
Two weeks ago we did not know whether she would survive this stroke. But look at her now. She is making a slow but determined recovery with the help of the Riverview Hospital Rehab Therapists, the prayers of God's people, and her own strong will to whip this thing.
We can all be pleased with what we see thus far. And we are looking forward to many great things happening in the coming weeks. Our God is a Great God!
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