Pain Relief vs. Healing

“You took a risk of faith, and now you're healed and whole. Live well, live blessed! Be healed of your plague." (Mark 5:34 MSG)

When someone has cancer, every available treatment is sought out before we resort to palliative care. Surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, and all the accompanying side effects are painful and draining. Yet patients and their families willingly go through all sorts of suffering, because they want to be healed. When the cancer has advanced beyond medical care, patients may ask to be given opioid drugs to relieve their pain.

If given the choice between pain relief and healing, most of us would want healing for ourselves and our loved ones. Yet our prayers are more often focused on an immediate end to suffering. This is because we confuse helplessness with hopelessness. We may be  helpless, but God is not. Thus, there is hope in every situation, even when we feel powerless.

Faith involves risk. We must step out without knowing all the details ahead of time. We don’t know when, where, or how God will work. But we know He is in control. We can depend on Him. The outcome may not match our expectations; our healing may not be in the physical realm. Yet we wait in confidence. We know that everything will be made whole according to His plan and timing.

Lord, you have heard our groans of helplessness. You have promised to rise up and rescue us. Your promises are pure like silver refined in a furnace. Therefore, we know you will protect us. (Paraphrased from Ps.12:5-7)

Waiting for the Fix

“If you see that the job is too big for you, that it's something only God can do, and you trust him to do it - you could never do it for yourself no matter how hard and long you worked - well, that trusting-him-to-do-it is what gets you set right with God, by God.” (Romans 4:5 MSG)

When something needs fixing around the house, my husband and I check Youtube. We often find helpful videos that show us how to do minor repairs. However, we know our limits. We don’t know anything about fixing cars. Whenever our cars need maintenance or repairs, we take them to Brandon, our local mechanic. Brandon is not much of a talker. He doesn’t really need to hear what is wrong with the car. We just drop off the car, hand over the keys, and go home and wait. He will call us when the car is fixed. We don’t even ask for an estimate. We trust him. He knows what he is doing, and he has always been fair.

When we trust God, we take our problems directly to Him. We don’t try to fix it on our own first. We go and lay our burdens down in front of Him. We don’t need to describe what is wrong. We don’t need to worry about our helplessness. God is all-knowing and all-powerful. He knows what He is doing. He has always been fair. We don’t need to ask for an estimate or when it will be done. He will let us know when the time comes. He will give us further instructions as needed. Our role is to trust, submit, and obey. Everything is set right with God, by God, in His perfect timing.

Lord, You are trustworthy and capable. You can fix the impossible. Help us to submit our burdens and wait peacefully. You set us right when we trust in You.

Inside the Cup

“For you are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy--full of greed and self-indulgence!” (Matthew 23:25 NLT)

I wash my coffee cups in the dishwasher, so I assume they are clean. The cups that I use regularly are stained on the inside. I’ve gotten used to this, so it doesn’t bother me much. Every so often, I wash the cups by hand, scrubbing abrasively to get the stains out. But the coffee stains build up again in a few weeks.

On the outside, I look like a follower of Christ. I attend church services and Bible studies; I pray; I listen to Christian music. Yet, my internal thoughts do not always match my external Christian identity. Inside I am anxious and fearful. I want my own way. I claim to have faith in God; yet, I have difficulty  trusting Him completely.  

Every so often, circumstances come along that scrub me abrasively. The stains of pride, self-indulgence, intolerance, distrust, and stubbornness are washed away. My inside shines with compassion and mercy. Unfortunately, it doesn’t stay that way for very long. Over time, the stains build up again.

Lord, wash away my stains. May I be faithful inside and out. May I reflect Your glory.

Playing with the Packaging

"Instead of giving you God's Law as food and drink by which you can banquet on God, they package it in bundles of rules, loading you down like pack animals. ( Matthew 23:4 MSG)

Recently I ordered some shoes from an online vendor. In a few days, I got a box that was more than twice the size of a standard shoe box. I opened the big box to find a bunch of bubble wrap. Underneath all of that packaging material was another small box with the shoes inside. I wondered why they would add all this unnecessary packaging material to something that isn’t fragile. I guess they need to justify the extra shipping and handling cost that they pass on to the customers.

Organized religion is known for packaging faith and distributing it in ways that appeal to the public. Churches are run like businesses. Members are kept busy with rituals, mission and vision statements, regulations, performances, social engagements, child care, fundraisers, finance committees, and other ‘ministry opportunities’ that keep the organization humming along. These fillers are like bubble wrap.  We must dig through and remove all the packaging before we can get to what is important. Much of what we do in church is equivalent to popping bubble wrap. It gives us a sense of satisfaction--it makes us feel like we are accomplishing something. Unfortunately, many of us get so occupied with the busywork of maintaining our churches that we rarely get down to the essence of faith. We need to decide how much packaging is absolutely necessary to keep our faith intact. Everything else is just occupying time and energy.

Lord, take away the superfluous practices that surround our faith. Show us what is essential to grow closer to You.

Reaction to Affliction

“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” (Romans 12:12 NIV)

Have you ever seen someone stub their toe and then immediately kick something afterwards? Many of us respond to pain by lashing out indiscriminately, causing further damage. We assume that this helps us to release our anger and frustration, but these reactions are often counterproductive.

When afflictions come into our lives, we can respond with patience or impatience, trust or anxiety.  Our reaction to the tragedy determines the outcome. Either we are transformed into better human beings, or we shrivel into bitter creatures who are crippled by pain.  Suffering cannot defeat us, but our attitude can.

Adversity is a challenging lesson. In the midst of trials, the pain blinds us to everything else that is going on. We can’t see anything productive coming out of these experiences. It can be years before we can acknowledge the value in suffering. It teaches us how to deal with evil, misfortune, and suffering. Pain can shape us into being more compassionate, patient, humble, and courageous. If we trust God when we are helpless, we learn to be confident in His power.  We become stronger, faith-filled individuals. We are able to inspire and comfort others who are suffering. We become God’s tools for change.

Lord, may we be confident in hope, patient in trouble, and constant in prayer.  Help us to overcome evil by doing good.

Waiting in Praise

“But I will keep on hoping for your help; I will praise you more and more.” (Ps. 71:14 NLT)

When faced with a crisis, I pray, but that’s not all I do. I also spend a lot of energy on worrying. I try to figure out what I can do to solve the problem. Sometimes the issue at hand will not be resolved for years, and all that time, I continue to stay agitated.

“He wanted me to wait in the spirit of praise, and only do what He bade me. It seems so unsafe to just sit still, and do nothing but trust the Lord; and the temptation to take the battle into our own hands is often tremendous.” (Streams in the Desert)

Yes, it seems unsafe to just sit still and do nothing but trust the Lord. Yet, that is exactly what we need to do. And while we are waiting, let us not get worked up by worrying. Instead, let us wait in the spirit of praise. Praise feeds trust. Praise allows us to be at peace knowing that God is all-powerful. Praise shifts our focus from the crisis to God.

Lord, whatever our situation, help us to wait in the spirit of praise.

Bread of Life

“Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again.” (John 6:35 NLT)

Every evening, I watch TV and eat snacks. I keep searching in the cupboards, hoping to find something that will satiate my cravings. I try  chips, chocolates, crackers, and cookies. No matter what I eat, I end up feeling empty and dissatisfied. The next evening, I repeat the same behavior.

What am I hungry for? What do I need? Obviously it isn’t the junk food that I keep stuffing myself with!

Within each of us, there are deep chasms that make us feel unfulfilled and vulnerable. Many of us attempt to occupy ourselves with busyness, distractions, food, alcohol, or other addictive habits. Even though we might temporarily forget our emptiness, we remain discontent and needy.

Jesus says: Come to me; trust me; align yourself with me. I will supply your needs. I am more than enough. Nothing else will satisfy.

How do we align ourselves with Christ? We present our emptiness to Christ. We acknowledge our iniquities and our insufficiency. We wait. We submit. We listen.

Father, draw me close to Christ. I don’t want to waste any more energy searching for useless ways to satisfy my hunger. Feed me with the bread of life.