Boy, I go too long without posting...
I want to share a CRAZY story that happened a few weeks ago.
So one of the only downsides of summer camp is the nostalgia you experience all schoolyear long when coming home..I know when I come home from camp I miss it like CRAZY! But some days are worse than others. So for a week or so I just started to feel a lot of sadness in just missing Sky Ranch and ESPECIALLY the people there-be it counselors from sigma, counselors from quest, or counselors from the past..or fellow campers! So yeah, I would just feel down, and during my quiet times I would pray about it. I would usually say something like, "God I really miss so-and-so" or "I'm really sad that I haven't talked with this person in awhile". It was sort of like I was complaining to God..Not that God doesn't want to hear everything we have to say, because he DOES..But That's all I would pray.
So during that week or so, school started getting crazier. And for me, the crazier life gets, the more I usually miss camp. So I was in theatre first period one day that week and I started telling God how much I missed camp. I told him how much I would love to just hear from SOMEONE at camp.
"Hannah, why don't you just ask me?"
God asked me that very question, and literally I had one of those "duh" moments. So I did just what God told me to do. I asked Him to just hear from one person, anyone, from camp. Now i know this probably sounds weird but it had been a super hard week and some of the best encouragers I know are the people I met from Sky Ranch! So I ASKED.
That was first period. I'm going throughout my day, and after hearing God's voice telling me to ask this of Him, I really did have faith that I was going to receive. But as I passed through second and third period out of my four classes I have each day, I had not heard from anyone. It was weird though..even though I hadn't heard from anyone, I didn't ever get angry with God for not delivering..I just continued asking. But as I continued asking, my prayers changed, along with my heart. When before I wanted to hear from people for my own benefit, I suddenly found myself praying and asking that this only be done if it were his will, and if I were to have contact with anyone from camp, it would be something I would blatantly be able to use for God's glory...But I still didn't hear for anyone..I just thought God had wanted to teach me a lesson through this, and it wasn't in his plan for me to talk to any sky ranch counselors or campers that day.
Well.
I get to fourth period English, my very last class of the day. And I still don't receive a text. But as the dismissal bell for the end of the day is ringing, I check my phone and I have a text from my old camp counselor of two years, Krista. Guys, of all people-I had not talked to Krista in around a month/month and a half. So I sort of just stare at my phone pretty awed-out by Jesus, when I finally open the text message. I was expecting a message saying something such as, "Hi! How are you?" or whatever..But it was a link to a website I have NEVER heard of. Just a link! So I click on it, and it takes me to this BEAUTIFUL poem about the concept of God's grace-and how we attempt to earn it ourselves..This is something I have always struggled with, and it was like God was sending me a little reminder in the craziness of my week.
Maybe I didn't do a very good job of telling the story on this blog, but to me it was a total God-moment. And the funny thing is that this 'God-moment' is so simple in concept, but so crazy hard for me to understand.
"So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened." Luke 11:9-10
That is SUCH a crazy promise the Lord is making there!!! God promises to provide! I used to get really tripped up over this verse. Because I know I've been praying for a long time that chipotle will deliver and that STILL hasn't happened! I've asked-so why haven't I received? But it brings me back to my story. God would still have been just as sovereign as He always has been if I had not received that text from Krista during fourth period. Who are we to say when God should give us what we want? I don't even think we know what we want! God promises that in all things he works for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28). I believe in a God who will not let us settle for what we think is best. That doesn't mean we will always be happy with what He gives us and does not give us..But guys think about what would happen if we started to pray boldly! Do you ever sit in church and hear a sermon that's super convicting-but you don't pray about it? I know I do that all the time! I know I tell God so often how much I wish there would be a revival at my school-but how often do I ASK Him to change the hearts of the students around me at school? If we as a body of believers begin to pray boldy and ask for things such as zeal for His kingdom and crazy love for others and growth and healing and sanctification I know he will provide! He may not provide when we want him to or in the way we want Him to- but I feel like in so many situations God is up in heaven wondering why we simply don't ask for the things we yearn for.
But we need to BELIEVE that God will answer.
"But when he asks he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord, he is a double minded man, unstable in all he does."-James 1:6-8
God desires a heart of faith, and a heart of submission! By trusting that the Lord will provide, it leads us away from worry and His desires are made our own! Pray boldly, because Abba Father will answer!
Praying for you guys always!
Saturday, September 15, 2012
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Useless Chains
Hi! I'm sorry about the lack of posting...I'm gonna go on ahead and use the typical excuse of being busy because of school..which this past week was kind of crazy, but I don't want business to stop me from sharing what God is teaching me.
So picture this:
There's a guy in doctors office who discovers that he has a terminal, incurable disease. The doctor basically tells him to go home and be with family for his last month or so before he passes. So the patient goes home, begins the grieving process, and basically gets ready for his last days...But one morning, a few weeks into coping with the news, he gets a frantic call from his doctor to come into the office right away. The man goes to the hospital and the doctor delivers news that a cure has been formulated, and it has a 100 percent guarantee to take away this man's illness in a matter of minutes. The doctor is practically elated after telling the terminally ill patient of the cure. But the man simply looks at the doctor, and in a matter-of-fact tone says, "It's okay, I can cure myself!" and walks out.
"A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees. "If you are willing, you can make me clean" Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing" he said. "Be Clean!" Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured." -Mark 1:40-42
So the first story I typed up there was made up- I haven't ever heard of anything like that happening in a doctors office..I also don't know of a cure to any disease that works in a matter of minutes..BUT I do know that spiritually, in our walk with the Lord, that scenario is all too present. I know, because I've been there.
We are messy beings. We sin. I once read a prayer that confessed that even when PRAYING we don't have the right intentions with the Lord. We have all fallen short of His glory..And that deserves punishment-and our punishment is to live with our sin and eventually spend eternity separated from God.
In Romans 7, theres a passage that Paul writes about his sin and about his sinful nature and his flesh and the fight between that. He says that what he wants to do he does not do, but he hates what he does. he also talks about how in his INNER being he delights in God's law..but He can't seem to shake all this crap sin out of his fleshly nature.
Newsflash...And I know Paul knew this. We can't heal ourselves. WHich is why the Lord provides Paul with beautiful words right after this statement of Paul's:
"What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God-through Jesus Christ our Lord!" -Romans 7:24-25
I love that Paul calls his body a body of death..Because that parallels not only to my little doctor story above, but also to the story of Christ healing the man with leprosy. As sinners, our body is literally, as Paul says, a body of death. Think about it: Our flesh is sinful in nature...And God is too holy for sin..So therefore because of our sin we are deserving of death, because of the deeds of our sinful nature. And we will continue to sin. Hear me out guys. I have TRIED and TRIED and I"m being completely honest. There is no way for us to heal ourselves. We are broken sinful beings that repeatedly turn our backs on our creator. Imagine if that verse above stopped at "WHo will rescue me from this body of death?" I get chills (and not the good kind) when I think about the reality that, if it were not for Jesus, we would have no hope at all.
Here's the way cool thing about Jesus though! Not only HAS he saved us but he was willing. Just as you look at Jesus healing the leper (along with several other stories in the Bible) Jesus is longing to save us, not only because he knows we are hopeless on our own, but because of his crazy insane love for us. In Isaiah (Forgive me for not knowing the exact passage!!) The Lord tells us that when we need his grace, he is EXALTED! He gets glory when we admit that we need Him. As a body of Christ, we need to let go of our chains we are holding on to and run towards freedom. Do you know how sweet of a deal this is guys? Being saved took no effort of our own. Just acceptance in the gospel and in God's truths. And now suddenly we are allowed free pardon from our sin, HEALING, and most importantly a relationship with Him...A relationship we did not deserve one bit. But understand this: I truly believe that to really be cured you have to allow the healer to do His work. I'm not saying that you shouldn't push yourself and resist temptation, but you can't go around trying to earn a gift already given to you! Let the reality of this drive your affections for the Lord-He takes you just as you are. You do not have to be afraid of failure, because great are the mercies of the Lord! He will not let you fall, and your salvation is secure. Rest in that, sisters and brothers in Christ, because the HEALER is worthy of praise! Don't try and fix yourself, that's just allowing yourself to succumb to useless chains.
So picture this:
There's a guy in doctors office who discovers that he has a terminal, incurable disease. The doctor basically tells him to go home and be with family for his last month or so before he passes. So the patient goes home, begins the grieving process, and basically gets ready for his last days...But one morning, a few weeks into coping with the news, he gets a frantic call from his doctor to come into the office right away. The man goes to the hospital and the doctor delivers news that a cure has been formulated, and it has a 100 percent guarantee to take away this man's illness in a matter of minutes. The doctor is practically elated after telling the terminally ill patient of the cure. But the man simply looks at the doctor, and in a matter-of-fact tone says, "It's okay, I can cure myself!" and walks out.
"A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees. "If you are willing, you can make me clean" Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing" he said. "Be Clean!" Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured." -Mark 1:40-42
So the first story I typed up there was made up- I haven't ever heard of anything like that happening in a doctors office..I also don't know of a cure to any disease that works in a matter of minutes..BUT I do know that spiritually, in our walk with the Lord, that scenario is all too present. I know, because I've been there.
We are messy beings. We sin. I once read a prayer that confessed that even when PRAYING we don't have the right intentions with the Lord. We have all fallen short of His glory..And that deserves punishment-and our punishment is to live with our sin and eventually spend eternity separated from God.
In Romans 7, theres a passage that Paul writes about his sin and about his sinful nature and his flesh and the fight between that. He says that what he wants to do he does not do, but he hates what he does. he also talks about how in his INNER being he delights in God's law..but He can't seem to shake all this crap sin out of his fleshly nature.
Newsflash...And I know Paul knew this. We can't heal ourselves. WHich is why the Lord provides Paul with beautiful words right after this statement of Paul's:
"What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God-through Jesus Christ our Lord!" -Romans 7:24-25
I love that Paul calls his body a body of death..Because that parallels not only to my little doctor story above, but also to the story of Christ healing the man with leprosy. As sinners, our body is literally, as Paul says, a body of death. Think about it: Our flesh is sinful in nature...And God is too holy for sin..So therefore because of our sin we are deserving of death, because of the deeds of our sinful nature. And we will continue to sin. Hear me out guys. I have TRIED and TRIED and I"m being completely honest. There is no way for us to heal ourselves. We are broken sinful beings that repeatedly turn our backs on our creator. Imagine if that verse above stopped at "WHo will rescue me from this body of death?" I get chills (and not the good kind) when I think about the reality that, if it were not for Jesus, we would have no hope at all.
Here's the way cool thing about Jesus though! Not only HAS he saved us but he was willing. Just as you look at Jesus healing the leper (along with several other stories in the Bible) Jesus is longing to save us, not only because he knows we are hopeless on our own, but because of his crazy insane love for us. In Isaiah (Forgive me for not knowing the exact passage!!) The Lord tells us that when we need his grace, he is EXALTED! He gets glory when we admit that we need Him. As a body of Christ, we need to let go of our chains we are holding on to and run towards freedom. Do you know how sweet of a deal this is guys? Being saved took no effort of our own. Just acceptance in the gospel and in God's truths. And now suddenly we are allowed free pardon from our sin, HEALING, and most importantly a relationship with Him...A relationship we did not deserve one bit. But understand this: I truly believe that to really be cured you have to allow the healer to do His work. I'm not saying that you shouldn't push yourself and resist temptation, but you can't go around trying to earn a gift already given to you! Let the reality of this drive your affections for the Lord-He takes you just as you are. You do not have to be afraid of failure, because great are the mercies of the Lord! He will not let you fall, and your salvation is secure. Rest in that, sisters and brothers in Christ, because the HEALER is worthy of praise! Don't try and fix yourself, that's just allowing yourself to succumb to useless chains.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)