High Expectations

"If calamity comes upon us, whether the sword of judgment, or plague or famine, we will stand in your presence before this temple that bears your Name and will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us and save us." II Chronicles 20:9

I'm home! Yesterday I was discharged from rehab, that meant that I spent less than two weeks in rehab, praise God! I expected to spend a much longer time in rehab, I thought I had a lot more to learn. But since I've been in a wheelchair for several months now, I had already learned a lot of what they were going to teach me. Isn't it neat to see how God had been working all throughout this summer?

I read the verse I shared at the beginning of this post and I realize I should have been expecting something pretty good. You see, I decided a while ago that I would stand in God's presence, I would give this to Him and see where He would take me. And he took me out of rehab days earlier than I expected.

Once we truly learn to stand in God's presence and give our will to Him, we find that things turn out consistently better than they used to, why? Because we're praying God's will, not our own. (See Matthew 6:6, 21:22) And I'm not talking about praying the way I used to pray. I used to pray that I would get my will but make it sound good by adding the phrase, "If it's your will, God."

Don't misunderstand me here, I am not condemning people who are praying in God's will and using that phrase, I'm specifically condemning the way I used to pray; praying my will but disguising it to make it sound better to other people. I am only condemning the way I used to do things, please do not see this as an attack on you. But you can take it to heart if you're doing what I used to. :)

Now, I prefer my prayers to sound a bit more like what we find in Matthew 6:9-13
"This, then, is how you should pray:
" 'Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.'"

And I prefer my attitude to be a bit more like the attitudes of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego found in Daniel 3:17,18 "If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up." That was the attitude I strove to have going into my surgery; I knew my God could heal me, but even if he didn't I was going to glorify Him anyway. And that's what I'm doing, I lost my foot, but I will continue to praise God and thank him for what He's done in my life.

Today's hymn is a short one, but good and true nonetheless; "Be Still, My Soul"

Be still, my soul, the Lord is on my side,
Bear patiently the cross of grief and pain.
Leave to thy God to order and provide,
In every change He, faithful, will remain.
Be still, my soul, thy best, thy heavenly Father,
Through stormy ways leads to a joyful end.