 Photo by Joel Joseph It is hard to imagine being in the hospital (with brief time-outs) for five months. I will be honest, the longer I stayed in the system, the harder it was for me to see God at work. The lack of communication between my doctors and their team, was disheartening. I felt I was always scrambling for answers that no one was willing to own up to. I became so frustrated that I began to question if I had seen God at work or if my doctors had gotten lucky with their treatment plan.
Despite that, I have learned many things. I believe God is listening to every cry from our lips, and He is leaps and bounds ahead of us, putting everything together so that when we are in need, and we cry out to Him, the answers are already in place - they just have to unfold. For example, I landed in the hospital originally because my health was getting worse. How I landed there surprised me more than I can say. Why I was there was an actual answer to prayer (to be able to share face to face with people about God). I stayed in the hospital from May 22nd to July 7th and was transferred from there to a rehab hospital so I could learn to walk again. While at rehab, God had plans to teach me patience. Not patience with others, but patience with myself. That was a hard one. But, today I want to tell you about why it is so important to be patient with God and let Him complete His good work in you. Patience and waiting on God are vital in finding those "God Moments."
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 Life changes on a dime! Yes, I am still in the hospital and yes, things got bad again. The before and after pictures are where I was and what I'm dealing with now. I was transferred to a rehab hospital and once again cellulitis reared its ugly head.
So what is going on? Why is God allowing this to happen? Could it be for my own good?  I apologize for the gross picture. It is a before and after of my journey that began May 22 and is still ongoing. I post it here to give you an idea of not only what I've been going through but how God works to get you where He wants you to be to fulfill His purposes. And yes, God will let bad things happen to you if the end result is His will.
 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. Note: I wrote this post in 2016. It feels just as relevant today, so I thought I would repost it.
I got an email today that sent me straight to my Bible. The author of the email wondered if it was possible if God was withdrawing His hand of restraint. I found the premise incredibly interesting. So I am putting my Jeremiah study down for a bit to look at 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 to see what Scripture says about God's restraining hand, what that means, and what happens when it is lifted.  As I carry on with my study of Jeremiah, I was struck by how timely today's verses were. I didn't want this post to be political, but this post is about pride. And if there is one person in the world who is an excellent example of someone who has an excessive amount of it, it is Donald Trump. His type of arrogance seems to be precisely what Jeremiah 9:23 is referring to.
Pride is a finicky thing. It can be exhibited as a feeling of well-being, like when you graduate from high school or college, for example. It can also be a feeling of joy, like when we take pride in the accomplishments of others - like our children. Every milestone they achieve makes us happy and excited for them and, yes - proud. These types of pride are not evil or sinful of themselves. One is based on completing something after working hard. It is a mixture of relief and satisfaction in getting the job done. The other is based on love and wanting the best for someone. The type of pride God frowns on, however, is based on something totally different. We see and hear it almost every time Donald Trump speaks. It is a combination of arrogance and haughtiness. And yes, I realize the two are practically identical in meaning, but arrogance is excessive pride in oneself, combined with contempt for others. While haughtiness is a feeling of superiority over others, which is often exhibited by a person's demeanour and disdain for others. |
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