I was just driving down the street and listening to a sermon; it was so profound I had to stop and write down my thoughts.
The speaker was talking about flying on a commercial plane. He said, “What would happen if, every 15 minutes, you called the flight attendant and asked them to check and make sure the pilots are awake?” After the first few times, they would ignore you because you were basically insulting the pilots. But yet we do that with God.
We commit something to Him but we go back time and time again, or we worry about the situation; we want to make sure He hasn’t gone to sleep, or forgotten, or we wonder why He’s not doing things in our timing or the way we would like.
It was such a clear illustration of something that is foundational to me. I haven’t been able to articulate it this clearly - but this is the “secret sauce” that can change our lives, no matter the situation. It goes along so well with the concept that God is not surprised at our situation. He is aware of what we are going through and He has plans to use our lives for good and for His Glory! That is what makes it easier to cope with whatever comes our way.
For me - it is my eyes. They are calming down (less flashes and floaters!) but from what I understand, the issues with my eyes will not go away. The injections slow the process down, but there is no guarantee or even really a plan that my vision will improve. And it’s certainly not the most horrible thing that can happen to someone!! My life is so good, I am thankful for the wonderful people in our lives, and I couldn’t have a better medical team! But it is very difficult to recognize people - so if I have a “deer in the headlights” look when I see you, it’s not you; it is me trying to process what I see! 🙂
This is The Message translation - and I think it clearly states that God has a plan and can use whatever we are dealing with, for good. He loves us and wants what is best for us. We can trust Him.
“Because of the extravagance of those revelations, and so I wouldn’t get a big head, I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations. Satan’s angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty! At first I didn’t think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then he told me, My grace is enough; it’s all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness. Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become.”
2 Corinthians 12:7-10 MSG
