Friday, December 15, 2006

THE NON-ANXIOUS PRESENCE 3

"How long, O Lord? Wilt thou forget me for ever? How long wilt thou hide thy face from me? How long must I bear pain in my soul, and have sorrow in my heart all the day?" (Psalm 13:1-2).

"By his wounds you have been healed" (I Peter 2:24b).

Our expectation of God is that He would be to as a genie to grant our wishes. We bring our requests to Him and, to quote a great American philosopher,* "boom" we have what we want. If we do not get what we want, what is the use in trusting Him? For what reason should we worship Him? We tend to be pragmatic; if it works, do it. If it doesn't work , "shoo"it.

What is interesting to me is that God never worries that some one will not believe in Him because He does not grant their request. God goes about His business according to His nature and according to His covenant, working out what is right and best for us. What is right and best for us may not square with what we think is right and best for us. We are frustrated when our pain isn't relieved; when we feel like God isn't around.

What I want you all to remember, God is the great physician, He is not the great magician. It is not wrong to bring all of your requests to God--many times over! He who has the hairs on your head numbered is very interested in you and will give to you just as a responsible and loving earthly father gives to his children.**

Grace&Peace;
Tom

* John Madden

**One of the reasons I believe this is from reading the Psalms. In Psalms God allows the expression of the whole range of human emotion. Our loving Hevenly Father is not threatened by our requests or by our emotions. Truely, He is a non-anxious presence.

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