Spiritual Pluck

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SufferingGod’s desire that we go through “fiery trials” willingly is tough for us to swallow. What we usually want most is immediate relief from any suffering, without considering what his purpose might be in allowing (or orchestrating) it in the first place.

I remember listening to a married couple speak at church years ago about the anguish of infertility. They had no problem getting pregnant but had suffered through 11 miscarriages. Eleven!

Their hearts were breaking, and the wife cried that day as she spoke. But she said something I’ve never forgotten, something applicable in any distressful situation. “None of us want to endure pain, whether it’s something big like infertility, or something less consequential like hunger pangs. No matter what it is, our immediate response is to try to get rid of it. We want pain-free lives.”

Then she said, “God has unique purposes for the pain in our lives. To automatically work to get free of it might be to miss something wonderful.” She went on to tell of God’s blessings in the midst of pain and of her stronger-than-ever love for him.

Paul being stonedThe Bible offers an example of this same thing in Paul, a man who suffered willingly, even eagerly, if it meant he could promote the cause of Christ. He had the vision of God’s purpose in pain and saw each struggle (and there were dozens!) as an opportunity to showcase his faith. His M.O. was to direct people to Jesus, and if bearing pain with grace could do that, he said, “Bring it!”

Paul would have approved of Oswald Chambers who said we ought to “rise to the occasion” of each fiery trial. “It doesn’t matter how it hurts,” he wrote, “as long as it gives God the chance to manifest himself in your mortal flesh.”

Reading that makes me believe only the truly godly do valiantly with serious pain, whether physical or emotional. While the rest of us try to get rid of it, the righteous embrace it, fully expecting God to supply the fortitude necessary to make it through in a way that will accomplish something eternal.

Which brings us to Mary’s cancer.

One of her regular prayer requests has been to be the light of Christ to everyone who touches her life during this time, from surgeons to custodians to nurses to registrars to family to the general public. That’s because she’s conscious of being watched just as Paul was, wanting to demonstrate that God’s grace is sufficient.

Chambers wrote, “May God find us full of spiritual pluck and athleticism, ready to face anything he brings.” And that’s Mary. Spiritually plucky! It doesn’t mean she’s happy to have cancer or thrilled with chemotherapy. It does mean she’s willing to go through it, though, while looking to God for his supply.

“If you are suffering in a manner that pleases God, keep on doing what is right, and trust your lives to the God who created you, for he will never fail you.” (1 Peter 4:19)

Praising and Praying with Mary

  1. Praise for a full day of activities without any nausea
  2. Praise for a weight gain total of 9 pounds!
  3. Pray she will keep her eyes “fixed on Jesus” without getting distracted

The Choice

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PackageYou blog readers and many others have gifted Mary with everything from daily prayers to letters, greeting cards, flowers, books, cozy clothing items, two prayer shawls, health foods, and more. She’s made use of everything, gratefully wrapping herself in the blessings you’ve shared.

Recently we were talking about all this bounty and she told me (with exclamation points in her voice) how astounded she’s been at the way each gift has been perfectly matched to her need-of-the-moment. “Of course it’s God putting these things together like that,” she said, “but he’s using the generosity of friends to do it. It just amazes me.”

But I think Mary has something to do with it, too. Even in her debilitated condition, now with nausea plaguing her on top of fatigue, she’s making a conscious choice every day to embrace what people send. She could have chosen the opposite approach, thinking, “I don’t deserve these gifts. I’m just going to set them aside. Besides, I can’t read all the books, can’t absorb all the messages.”

Instead she has received each one eagerly, knowing it’s the Lord who’s behind the perfectly-timed arrival of every item. And she doesn’t want to miss anything he’s trying to say to her, through these gifts.

Jesus TodayAs we talked further, Mary gave me an example: “Somebody sent me Sarah Young’s new book, Jesus Today,” she said. During a discouraging moment I opened it to entry #9 and found God’s exact instruction of what I needed to do to lift my mood. Writing from a first-person point of view as if she was Jesus talking, Sarah wrote, ‘As you go through this day, you will encounter things that make you cringe, things that are wrong or ugly. […like cancer] Do not let them become your focus’.”

Mary went on to tell me how the devotional challenged her to “look the right way,” which is to look at Jesus. Ms. Young wrote, “You yearn for perfection, and I [Jesus] am the fulfillment of that deep longing. I am able to stay close to you as you walk through this sin-stained world. So look the right way – toward blessings, toward Me – and the Joy of My Presence will shine upon you.”

Mary marveled at God’s well timed delivery of personal encouragement that day, as he’s done over and over with the gifts she’s received. But when she said, “I want to choose to do that, to ‘look the right way’,” I had to smile. I’d say she’s been doing pretty well at that already.

“You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy.” (Psalm 16:11)

Praising and Praying with Mary

  1. Praise for sisters in “Club Chemo” who have come alongside with tips and encouragement 
  2. Praise that today was a day with minimal nausea; please pray that this will continue
  3. Pray for the strength to get through the 4 busy days ahead

Teacher of the Year

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Back to schoolGod is always teaching us. If we’re eager for it, he’ll show us all kinds of things. If we’re ambivalent or worse yet, antagonistic, he’ll still show us all kinds of things. Either way, he’s going to teach. It’s just that if we want to learn, it’s going to be pleasant. If not, getting educated will be difficult.

Any way we look at it, God is Teacher of the Year, the Decade, the Century, and of all time. He’s got eternity covered, too. Problems result only on the student side, and we can certainly be stubborn pupils, especially when the lessons are advanced.

One subject in our Teacher’s curriculum is so difficult, it’s included in his curriculum every year. It’s based on a question: why doesn’t he always say “yes” to our prayers?

For instance, if a friend is injured in an accident after we’ve prayed for safety, we might need a refresher course entitled, “Our God Hears.” When we learn of children being harmed, we might need new instruction in a class called, “Our God Sees.” If a family member gets cancer as Mary has, we might need to re-register for, “Our God Heals.”

Let’s face it. No matter how many lessons we’ve learned in God’s school, once in a while we raise our hand and say, “Is this injury/damage/disease absolutely necessary?”

Though he has the answer, he’s not required to give it. Sometimes, though, he does. For example, this morning in my small prayer group, we were preparing to pray over 12 long lists of names, each one representing difficulty and sadness.

As we spread our requests on the table in front of us, the 200+ needs sometimes threaten to overwhelm us. We can feel like our Teacher is “failing to answer” our prayer-questions. Where are the yeses?

Today he used one of his student teachers to deliver our lesson. Compound interestAbigail said, “I like to think that as we pray, it’s like putting money in God’s bank. He hears us each time we plead for answers and is quietly working on our requests much like a savings account is changing, based on compounding interest. The prayer/account grows and grows until the day God reveals everything he’d been doing all along, and just like with compound interest, his answers are far larger than what we expected!”

Caa–ching!

So, today’s lesson in God’s School of Understanding used a banking metaphor to teach us why we should keep praying, even when answers aren’t forthcoming. We knew he had a classroom, but who knew he had a bank, too?

“If you are walking in darkness, without a ray of light, trust in the Lord and rely on your God.” (Isa. 50:10)

Praising and Praying with Mary

  1. Pray that her new nausea would respond to meds
  2. Praise that there are stronger meds, if these don’t work
  3. Pray for energy to continue wedding planning
  4. Praise for friends who never stop praying and encouraging her