An example of Question 3

A woman came to me after church one day, kind of in a rush, and asked if I would pray with her. Of course I would, this is my favorite thing to do. We went off to a quieter place and I asked what was up. She said "I need you to pray for my back, as I’ve got a really busy week and don’t have time to go to the chiropractor" (my quotes are not word for word, as they are relying on my often faulty memory of the situation...) I LOVE this woman, and I wish more people were like her, so don’t think I’m judging her, I’m just going to tell you what I ‘heard’ when she said this. "I ‘need’ you to pray for my back because my #1, my first resort, my preferred method, is unavailable, and Jesus is a less than reliable second. If I had time for the chiropractor, I would not come to you/Jesus…" I logged this away in my mind and prayed for healing. When I was done praying I asked her if she had sensed anything, heard anything from God, felt anything while we were praying. (I always ask this question, and the answers are so interesting!) She just smiled and said "No" with a bit of a shrug, "I guess it’s up to Him now, if he wants to." Did you get that last bit? IF He WANTS to? I asked her if she believed there were any situation in which he might NOT want to. She answered, "well, if it’s not His will, if there were some ‘higher purpose’ for my pain." I asked her "If you believe there could be a "higher purpose’ for your pain, and this pain could possibly actually BE the will of God, then, are you not out of line is seeking relief from a chiropractor?" She is a wonderful woman, in that, she is not easily offended. I have asked other people this same sort of question, and had them be horribly offended. She is a very thoughtful woman. There are often long silences between question and answer with her. After one of these long silences she asked me "Well, if we’re going to go down that road, then, it begs the question… should I be taking any pain killers for this?" I smiled and shrugged and replied ‘It’s a valid question… IF you are going to believe that it ‘might be God’s will for you to have pain" (NOT to heal you) in order for him to accomplish some ‘higher purpose," then we are in conflict with His will in seeking relief from it." She was not at all comfortable with this new line of thinking. There was a lot going on in her brain at this moment. We prayed again, this time for a revelation of the TRUTH, and for unity in our prayers. Then we hugged and she quietly went on her way. I never heard from her for nearly two months. I had no idea how her ‘incredibly busy week’ had gone. Truth be told, I was sort of avoiding her, because I hate hearing that ‘nothing happened’ when we’ve prayed for healing. It’s very frustrating for me.

Anyway, about two months later, she came up beside me when I was alone and just quietly asked ‘Do you remember when we prayed together?" I said "ya". She said, "Well, I went through that whole week without a single pain killer! I had NO pain! I slept through the night, which is something I haven’t been able to do for years! I had this huge bottle of pain killers that I never once used!"

I was so relieved, so blessed, so thankful, so encouraged!

True or False?

I was accused of 'shooting' someone with a vaccinating gun today. Falsely accused. One person asked the other if 'Ingrid had shot them yet?' The answer was 'yes, twice!' I asked the person 'why do you lie?' The response? "Well, I meant to say 'shot me a look', but I ran out of time." This of course was just lame and silly banter while doing a job that is not entirely fun, but the lesson is there. Half of the truth can lead me to believe a lie. Half the truth is not a lie, but it can lead me to believe a lie. It happens all the time....

3 Questions

Hey, I know, it’s been a long time since I’ve written. That’s cause I’m not sure if I’ve had any clear revelations since last I wrote. I went back and read what I’ve written so far, and don’t really feel like I can really add anything to it. Like the ‘book’ is finished. And yet, the journey is not. I’m still wishy-washy about things. I’m still scared to vocalize what I believe in some circles, because one could easily call me a hypocrite about certain things if they watched my life closely. I’ve had people whom I’ve shared my beliefs on healing with, who’ve just shy of mocked me when I have not successfully battled a cold, and showed up somewhere with the sniffles. It’s kind of sad actually, for someone to be ‘glad’ about my illness because it ‘proves’ me wrong. It doesn’t prove me wrong… It just proves that if you don’t pay attention…stuff sneaks up on you… just like bad attitudes, grudges, lustful thoughts, jealousy… it all sneaks up if you’re not ‘on the alert’ as the Bible would say.
I want to start a new round of toomanywhatifs… About the same things, but maybe from a different angle. Maybe not. Maybe it will all be same old, same old. But I know that with other truths from the Bible, eg. Saved by grace, righteous through faith, we/I need to hear the same things over and over again, because the ‘world’ presents such an entirely different message, that I need to be reminded of the beauty and simplicity of the truth.
So here goes.
I had a conversation with a gentleman recently. He proposed that there are really only two questions necessary when faced with any kind of difficulty in life.
Question 1. Is there a God?
Question 2. Is He able?
To that I very quickly responded that I believe there is a third. He looked a bit taken aback. In his mind (if I can dare to read his mind) he felt that if these two questions were answered by truth, the matter would be settled. He didn’t want to hear that there would be a third question. But curiosity got the better of him (or else, I just blurted it out… that happens sometimes) so he heard me out.
Question 3. Will He?
Is that not the question everyone asks?? Everyone I talk to asks this question in one way or another. Will he? Will he forgive my sins? All my sins?? Even the ones I pre-meditate and do repeatedly, on purpose? Will he keep food on the table and a roof over my head if I "seek him first?" Will he "meet all (my) needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus." Will he give me love for my kids/parents/husband/co-workers when I’m at my wits end? Will he give me a ‘way out’ when I am tempted, like his WORD says? Will he calm my fears? Will he ‘heal all our diseases" like his WORD says?
We’ve had a few discussions around here about the subject of ‘suffering’. There are a lot of different schools of thought about this issue. Although the suffering most often referred to in the Bible deals with persecution because of the name of Jesus Christ, we are mostly unaffected by persecution thanks to a ‘so far’ common belief about freedom of religion. (I say ‘so far’ because I see it beginning to slip away…). So, when we, around this neck of the woods, think about suffering, invariably the subject of healing comes up. One time, just recently, I was having this 3 Question conversation with a lovely lady, whom I love. Her response was that the third question absolutely comes up. Without any coaxing from me, or manipulating of the conversation, her thoughts went immediately to her medical condition. She said to me ‘I have NO doubt that there IS a God. I have NO doubt that he COULD heal me. The Question is, DOES HE WANT TO? ‘Will he?" She feels there is no way to KNOW the will of God, and that if he doesn’t WANT to heal her, then she will have to learn to live with this illness. He might have some "higher purpose" for it. (sick people always say this, and friends trying to encourage sick people say this too) The fact that she’s had the illness for several years and has not been healed seems proof enough to her that he does NOT want to heal her. God always DOES what he WANTS to do…. is the theory…
A few days later I was conversing with a different gentleman about suffering, and, again, without coercion (spell check says that’s right?? Sure doesn’t look right!) the subject of physical healing came up. This time to do with chronic pain from an old and well deserved injury. There have been many prayers for healing gone up for this gentleman. Again the comments… "I have NO DOUBT that God CAN heal me" Question 1 &2 answered. But the jury is still out on Question 3. "Are you saying that I just "Need MORE faith?" If I have thi--------------------s much faith that God CAN ABSOLUTELY heal me in a heart beat, how can you say I need more faith?? (I never said he needed MORE faith…. I’ve discussed MORE faith in a different post, but this is ALWAYS what people hear. Must mean I’m a bad communicator….) The conclusion?? God doesn’t WANT to heal me. He CAN, but He WON’T, at least not now. I mean, a day is like a thousand years to God. Maybe he WANTS to in 10 more years. He must have a ‘higher purpose.’
Settling Question 1 and Question 2 is of very little use if I can’t settle Question 3. I can’t have ‘faith’ in a God who MIGHT save me… I need faith in a God who WILL save me. How do I become convinced that he WILL save me? By hearing the gospel. By knowing the scripture. The WORD of God. I can’t take a mans word for it. But I can take GOD’s word for it. I cannot experience assurance of salvation, of forgiveness of sin, until I am convinced that he WILL save me, he WILL forgive me. As long as I think, "he could if he wanted to," I will live in fear that he might not. Once I know that he WANTS to, and he CAN, in fact, he already HAS!!!!, then I can rest in assurance that I’ve been forgiven.
I believe the same holds true of physical healing. It is of very little use to believe that my God is ABLE to heal me if he wants to, but not have any idea IF he WANTS (wills) to. Once I discover that he WANTS (wills) to, then I can put my faith in what is TRUE; in the WILL and the NATURE and the CHARACTER and the HEART of God. Then I can receive the gift, the way I received the gift of salvation…by faith, not in one who CAN, but in one who WILL.
To go back to the original 2 Question guy. Once I explained that there was indeed a third question that needs to be addressed, he went back to editing Question 1, saying "Is there a God, and if so, WHO is he?" I concede to this amendment, because, if we know WHO our God is, then we answer the "WILL he" question. But, in reality, he turned Question 1 into two Questions, so, actually, there are still 3 Questions, so…. I win. There are 3 Questions that must be answered before the matter can be settled.