Today I read the story from Acts 12. I'm sure you know the story: Peter is in jail, awaiting execution in the morning. The church gathers at John Mark's house to pray for his release. God sends an angel to set Peter free. When Peter arrives at the house, the servant girl runs to announce the good news to the people gathered praying for him. Once again, we see the disciples not making themselves look so good... They react as though the servant girl is crazy. Of course Peter's not there, he's in jail! It seems that they lost sight of God's ability to pull off miracles. How often do we do the same thing? I'm not talking about the parting of seas. I'm thinking of the everyday miracles, that we sometimes fail to pray about or even recognize.
Several months ago, I had gone out for coffee with a good friend. We talked quite a bit about her teenage son, and some of her worries about him. He had a lot on his shoulders, and was struggling to cope. She, too, was suffering in a season of grief. As we parted that night, I suddenly remembered I had a small book by Max Lucado in my glove compartment. I gave it to her. She accepted it, but didn't seem nearly as excited about it as I was. The book was He Did This Just For You, in which Max Lucado uses a parable about a father and his wayward daughter to explain God's desire for a love relationship with us. It is beautifully done, one of my favorites to "share" with people.
The next morning, during my quiet time, I was praying for her son. As I was talking about my concerns, God clearly laid on my heart that I should pray that the book would be left out, and the teenage boy would read it. I need to be completely honest here. Before praying for this, I tried to help God understand why this couldn't possibly happen! I gave Him several good reasons why, in all my wisdom, I didn't think it was very likely at all. Yes, at times I can be very dumb! But God was being persistent, and having prior experience with Him, I knew it was best to just do what He said. So I jumped on board with Him and prayed that God would work out a "small miracle". After all, it was a good idea He had.
Well, I'm sure you can figure out what happened next. The following day I called his mother and asked how things were going with him. She told me how "the strangest thing" had happened the day before. She had left the book I gave her on her bedside table. She said she went in her room, and saw her son laying on her bed reading it. He read it cover to cover, then came out and asked her if she had read it. When she said no, he replied "Well, you should, it was really good." His mom thought it was very strange that he would read a book like that, but mentioned that "maybe it helped, he does seem less depressed today." Being the faithless idiot that I can sometimes be, I was somewhat blown away by this information. Not only had he read the book the very day I had prayed about it, but apparently, he agreed with it!
So now you're wondering, what the heck is wrong with this girl? Right? Why was I so shocked to hear this news? I mean, wasn't it God's idea in the first place? What did I think was going to happen? God invites me to be a part of something He's doing, and I'm surprised when He completes what He started. What a dope I can be! Now I'm not fooling myself into thinking that God needed me to accomplish His will here. He is certainly able to bring about His plans, regardless of my unfaithfulness. But what a blessing to be a part of it!
Still, I can't help but wonder how many times I've missed out on the blessings He had intended for me because I lacked the kind of faith He's called me to. So I think I need to start asking myself this question: Would I rather be involved in God's wonderful plan, or stand on the sidelines critiquing Him? Seems like a no brainer to me.
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2 comments:
Wow!! Talk about convicting. That last line really has me thinking. I confess I'm guilty of standing on the sidelines.
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