Jim and I are both going through health issues.  I have been living with chronic pain/illness for over 25 years, with the past 10 years mostly home-bound and needing assistance in my daily life.  Now Jim is going through some serious health issues as well.  So what do you do when your main care-giver needs assistance as well?

The other day when a family member called to check to see how Jim and I are feeling, she said, “This is so depressing. You two much be devastated!”  I was a little taken back with that reaction at first, then I replied, “no way, maybe a little perplexed, but not depressed.  God is in control.  He will never allow us to go through more than we can handle.”  Although to be honest, there are moments that I think to myself, “I wish God did not trust me enough to ‘handle’ this much!”

In all seriousness, I believe in the Sovereignty of God.  That all things are under God’s rule and control, and nothing happens without His permission. God works not just some things but all things according to the guidance of His own will (Eph. 1:11). God’s purposes are all-inclusive and never thwarted (Isa. 46:11).  There is nothing that takes Him by surprise. The sovereignty of God is not only that God has the power and right to rule all things, but that He does so, continually and without exception.

A.W. Pink said it beautifully in The Sovereignty of God, Chapter 1.

“What do we mean by [the sovereignty of God]? We mean the supremacy of God, the kingship of God, the god-hood of God. To say that God is Sovereign is to declare that God is God. To say that God is Sovereign is to declare that He is the Most High, doing according to His will in the army of Heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth, so that none can stay His hand or say unto Him what doest Thou? (Dan. 4:35). To say that God is Sovereign is to declare that He is the Almighty, the Possessor of all power in Heaven and earth, so that none can defeat His counsels, thwart His purpose, or resist His will (Psa. 115:3). To say that God is Sovereign is to declare that He is “The Governor among the nations” (Psa. 22:28), setting up kingdoms, overthrowing empires, and determining the course of dynasties as pleaseth Him best. To say that God is Sovereign is to declare that He is the “Only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords” (1 Tim. 6:15). Such is the God of the Bible.”

So what do you do when the care-giver needs a care-giver?  You trust in the Sovereignty of God.  I rest assured, “… that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”  Romans 8:28 (NKJV)

The plan was for the work to be done by 7pm to make way for family movie night: the fourth installment of Love Comes Softly. But life often happens to the best laid plans these days. It was 7:45 before we began, and after bedtime by the end. But how else will family time happen, if we don’t just squeeze it in?

The demands and the desires press hard against me and the clock mocks me with its tick-tocking. The toilet overflows, the man-child erupts, the showered girl needs a towel, and a mama simply tries harder, runs faster, to hold it all together.

The other day, we visited friends who had experienced a healing that just may have saved his life. The wife sat quiet beside him, with the golden retriever who thinks he’s a lapdog sprawled across them both. Steve spilled forth his joy, and thanksgiving, and with humbled inability to put words to any more, he spilled the rest from his eyes.

As we listened, I watched a magnificent hummingbird through the picture window behind him. The petite gracefulness nothing short of a work of art. She perched on a branch for a while, then motionless hovering over the necter, then perched again quietly and effortless.

I think of the bird tonight. I have not hovered motionless and perched, effortless and quiet. But I want to be the beautiful bird that sucks necter from life with the poise and artistry. Instead I am an ant, who scrurries helter skelter after the boot drops. Right up and over those who are closest – but in my way, the crazy madness of the ant pile, biting, stinging. The high-pitch is because I’m not breathing from my diaphram. My chest aches, my ears ring, and my shoulders are a tight-rope.

I speak too many words, overflowing like the toilet. And I need Thee, O I need Thee. Every hour I need Thee.

While I mop up the contamination from the bathroom floor, I wonder how I will clean the contamination that overflowed my heart. The words from Haggai that flowed into that heart only two days ago bite and sting my spirit now. Because the impure indeed defiles what is pure when it touches it (Haggai 2:12-13). I have presented my members as an instrument of unrighteousness (Romans 6:13), and sown discord, not peace. I have looked into the mirror and walked away and forgotten Who I am to look like (James 1:23-24).

God disinfects with mercy and grace. Forgiveness, too. And a new day dawning tomorrow. He lifts me up–I am not an ant trampled under foot. And He humbles me–neither am I the hummingbird, beak dripping stolen sweetness. The bird God watches is the sparrow.

And I sing because I’m happy and I know he watches me.

For the past 2 years, my husband and I have been embroiled in a complicated and frustrating battle regarding a real estate issue. It’s truly a current day David and Goliath scenario, and we’re little David. Day by day, it’s up and down emotionally as the lawyers go back and forth.

So we decided that whenever our minds drift into the “what if’s” and the figuring out, we would turn our thoughts to scripture, specifically Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.”

This discipline has kept our minds fixed on truth instead of faulty thinking. Last week, we received a call from our lawyer saying that we were at a dead-end. I felt my stomach flop, but my husband (normally the worry-er) was strangely at peace. Then he shared with me an email he read moments before the lawyer’s phone call. It was from our friend, Pastor Chuck:

“‘What do you mean, “If I can”?’ Jesus asked. ‘Anything is possible if a person believes.’” (Mark 9:23 NLT)

 God will build your faith by planting a dream within you. But that dream will require a decision of faith, and then God will stretch your faith as you face delays, difficulties, and dead ends.

It is then that God comes in and delivers. God does a miracle. God provides a solution. For instance:

·   In Moses’ case, God parted the Red Sea. 

·   In Abraham’s case, he and Sarah miraculously conceived a child. 

·   In Joseph’s case, all of a sudden his dream came true, and he found himself no longer imprisoned in a dungeon; instead, he was the second in command in Egypt. 

 And Jesus was resurrected! God can even turn a crucifixion into resurrection, and that means he has the power to transform your dead ends into deliverance. He builds your faith through delays, difficulties, and dead ends, so that when he delivers you, God gets all the credit!

 When faced with a dead end, the best response is to expect God to act. What are you expecting God to do in your life? Jesus says, “According to your faith let it be done to you” (Matthew 9:29b NIV).

 When you wait for deliverance, then God gets the credit. And you can look back to see how God led you through a path of faith, expanding and increasing your trust of him with every step. Your faith is stronger, and now you can say with confidence, “I am expecting the Lord to rescue me again, so that once again I will see his goodness to me …” (Psalm 27:13 LB).

Reading that email moments before the phone call gave my husband the wisdom to know how to respond. We’ll wait for the Lord, and we’ll wait with the expectation that He will be glorified when this issue is resolved. Already, we have seen God work, and soon the lawyers and town officials and many others will too.

Are you facing a difficult circumstance? One which seems impossible? Leave a comment so I can pray for you, and you can pray for me too. Together we will see God do the impossible! 

Susan

www.eternitycafe.blogspot.com

www.susanpanzica.com