Miracle in the Making



…we need to remember that impossible situations are opportunities for the Lord to teach us valuable lessons that we’d never learn any other way.

…the perfect plan and the power to implement it come only from God, not from human solutions and resources.

…whenever we yield our flawed solutions and meager resources to Him and step out in obedience, He does great things in us and through us.

…Each step required trust and obedience, especially since Christ’s method seemed so illogical.

…God knows how to solve your problem, but He may choose to require your cooperation, possibly even asking you to do something that seems unreasonable.

This morning my friend Beth shared a link on FB to a devotional that included the above statements.  They came after reading John 6:1-14…the familiar story of the feeding of the 5,000 with the 5 loaves and 2 fish. (http://www.intouch.org/magazine/daily-devotional#.To2X2jUpnxA.facebook)

In light of my earlier study this week about how God uses difficult times to develop a more godly character in our lives, I found myself pondering this morning’s devotional thoughts.  It fell in line with counsel that I’d been giving a precious younger sister-in-Christ this week who was praying about a difficult situation in her life.

Sometimes people look to “peace” as confirmation of God’s will in their lives.  I highly suspect the disciples were not feeling much peace the day that crowd showed up.  Jesus asked the disciples, “How are we going to feed this group?” (my paraphrase) – immediate peace-ending question in my mind.  God sometimes brings us to impossible situations where He can go to work to reveal His PERFECT plan and solution.  And you can almost bet that His plan and solution will look nothing like we could think up or imagine!

I have an impossible situation in my life.  How do I pray for someone that I don’t trust?  I love this person…my mind is clear on that.  But, honestly…in my strength and power…I want nothing to do with them.  I don’t want to pray for them because praying for them keeps them on my mind and I don’t want to even think about them.  I want to live as if this person no longer exists in my life.  I bounce back and forth between being angry at God for putting this person in my life and trusting that God knew what He was doing when He put this person in my life, so I am required to accept God’s plan.  God’s plan seems incredibly illogical to me…to allow someone into my life that could hurt me, embarrass me, abuse me, mistreat me, disrespect me.  Why am I required to love such a person when his disobedience and rejection of God doesn’t require that he love me? 

1.               Because God says so. (ouch…this one always ends the discussion)

2.                 Because God loves him.

3.                 Because God chose that he would be my brother here on earth.

4.                 Because if I stop praying for him, will anyone else be praying for him?

5.                 Because God will forgive me in the same way I forgive my brother?

It’s not a feeding-of-the-5,000 kind of miracle…but loving my brother IS a miracle nonetheless.  Until I learn to love this broken, hurting, angry, abusive man in the way God loves him I will remain “conflicted” in a situation in which God truly desires to give me peace.

So, Lord…in light of my convoluted ways of thinking…help me reach for the loaves and fish and step out in faith to love him the way You want me to…the way you require that I love him.  I heard somewhere, Lord, that the way I love the least loveable person in my life is the way I love You.  I pray that when You search my heart on this one that You will truly know my desire is to love him…and that this will be enough until I truly love him.   Love him enough to be willing to lay down my life for him (this would be difficult, Lord).  But, Lord…if you could choose to love us despite our brokeness, pain, anger and abusive ways towards You, then I know that it is what You require of me. 

Lord…I’ve also become so aware of how horribly unloving I’ve been to my husband in the past.  I’ve spoken of him in ways that did not honor You.  I’m so ashamed.  And yet You’ve given him the strength and heart to forgive and love me.  I’m overwhelmed with his kind of love.  I know he’s not perfect, Lord….but I get to see his heart and the way he chooses to model Your love and forgiveness in my life.  Thank you for giving me someone with skin on to show me how it’s really done.  And I pray this morning, Lord, for the friend that I know needs this same lesson in her life.  Show her, Lord, how she’s dishonored You in dishonoring her husband.  Teach her, Lord, that Your plan and Your will for her life include respecting and loving the man she committed her life to.  Let her speak words of praise and strength and building up to him.

Thank You, Lord, for the opportunity to talk to Jen just now and share the remarkable testimony and joy that Ken Davis brought to our lives last night.  Thank You for the inspiration to live…to live fully alive in every moment.  Thank You for allowing us to “adopt” Kanini last night through Compassion International.  Help us to be faithful to this little girl…to provide for her sustenance from the abundance of blessings You’ve poured out on us.  Protect her, Lord…guide her…provide for her family.

Lord….thank You for being a God Who is worthy of trust.  Thank You for being the God Who never fails.  Thank You for being a God so far greater than any that man could make up.  Thank You for pouring out Truth in our lives in a world full of deception and false religions and false gods.  Thank You for being You and choosing to be involved with us…something we don’t deserve except that you chose to gift us with love and salvation.  I praise You…I praise Your name.  Amen.