Why would God say "no" to a good request? To a request like Paul's for the removal of his thorn? For our requests for healing?
This week Lysa TerKeurst said, "When God says no, we are sometimes tempted to wonder if He loves us. In reality, it’s because He loves us, He sometimes says no."
To illustrate this she gave a beautiful word picture of how a cake may look done 2/3 of the way through allotted baking time, but if it's pulled from the oven too soon, it collapses. She writes, "The cake couldn’t withstand the pressure of an undone center… and neither can we.
"If we obsess over the cake and make it our whole focus, character atrophies. If we make growing in godliness our obsession and keep our focus on God, our character matures. And a mature character makes for a solid and well done center."
The rest of Lysa's post can be found here: Escaping the Rut of Want
I've said over and over that I believe pain is a gift, though certainly an odd one. The thing that makes it a gift is the way it drives us to dependence on God. If I'm fixated only on my illness, or my desire to be well, I miss out on God's best for me right here, right now, right in the heart of living these trials.
2 comments:
I read that devotion early this week. Good stuff. Thanks for highlighting it for me again.
I love your very last words on how we miss out on God's best because we are fixated on our desire. It struck a cord with me!
Thank you for blessing others with your thoughts!
Post a Comment