ask

"Little girl I say to you arise" 

These are the words Jesus spoke to a girl that had breathed her last well before He had arrived on the scene. 

Yesterday Pastor Lynn asked us in simple words as a new church how we would handle a family who was suffering through the circumstance of having a brain dead child. I volunteered that we should make sure their needs are met (i.e. cooking for them, cleaning their house). Someone else said we should help with their expenses. Another said that we should pray that God would give them peace in this time of trouble. After a couple more suggestions Pastor Lynn simply said, "why don't we prevent all that, and just raise the dead." 

It wasn't until right then that I realized how weak my faith was. How true it was that the God that lives in us is more than powerful to not only raise the dead, but to form complex life out of the dust. If we were to follow Jesus' example, He did not merely say, "Can I help you with the funeral plans." He said, "Arise." Further, He also said that we would do greater things. So I ask, why do we not see these greater things? Not because the Word is wrong! Far from it! We do not have, because we do not ask. We suffer from "peon syndrome." We feel that we are nothings and that God wouldn't bother to even incline His ear to hear our simple quiet prayers. 

I can't explain the miracle God has been doing in my heart for the past month or two. He has restored to me all that I have lost. He has wooed my heart and I am falling fast. I can't even wrap my brain around what I feel. The point is... I feel. I no longer serve the god of the numb. I'm no longer living in my self imposed isolation. It is as if God spoke to my spirit and said.... arise. I'm not afraid or embarrassed to ask anymore. God loves me. He LOVES me. I may not understand it, but it's the one certain thing I cling to right now. If there has been anything I have learned this past weekend, it is to ask. So what are you waiting for? Ask :D

Understanding Awe

I found out some distressing news the other day. My brother's car had been broken into. There is something to say about how the Devil knows which buttons to push. But this blog is to glorify God. He always has a knack of turning the most hopeless situation to good. My brother said the most amazing thing I have ever heard him say, " It's all material stuff that can be replaced." Until now my brother has placed high regard on his possessions. It hurt me that after all his hard work in one fowl swoop his privacy was taken and the things he spent so much hard earned money on were gone. I can't imagine what went through his mind. The beauty of it is that God helped him see the good in the situation. His car was vandalized by professionals, meaning that if he hadn't listened to the Holy Spirit and left any earlier. This would have been a much more distressing blog. Not to mention that his entire car could have been stolen. 

What makes the whole situation even more amazing, is that we were studying John chapters 14-17 yesterday at church and Pastor Lynn told us to ask big. To ask for the people that we wanted to be touched by God the most. My brother was at the top of the list. To hear how God used this situation to shake his heart and show him where his priorities were at. That meant the world to me. It also meant that the God of the universe heard my earnest prayer. He took time to listen to me. I can't even put into words how special I feel. The only word I can think of....is awe.