This month I learned a rather obvious lesson. I was reminded that life happens, regardless of your plans or hopes. With my dad being in and out of the hospital this month, and now with my husband's grandmother in the hospital, I am reminded how time is short on this earth. This is an obvious lesson that many people learn in times like these...so I don't mean to sound cliche` at all. However, what should our response be to these times?
I went to a church service recently, at a church that will be left unnamed, where an idea was preached that I did not agree with at all. The preacher was explaining to the congregation about how important it is to believe in the One True God during times of trouble. This was not the idea that upset me. I do believe that we are to trust in the Lord during hard times like these. However, the preacher then began to tell a story about how a family's prayer was answered after the preacher laid hands on a sick man. He began then to say that whatever we believe in and pray in the Lord's name, will come true. He only very quickly mentioned the Lord's Will in this teaching. For example, he said something like: If we believe in something and pray according to the Lord's Will, the Lord will answer your prayers and give you your desires. He never elaborated on the importance of praying in the Lord's Will. This could possibly give the impression that if we believe in things hard enough, they will happen. I DO agree with believing that the Lord CAN do all things, but that doesn't mean that He WILL! For example, my pastor's daughter was not healed from her rare brain disease, but was instead taken up to Heaven to live with Him. Did my pastor pray that his daughter would be healed? Of course. Did he believe it could happen? Of course he did. But did it happen? No.
What does it mean to pray in the Lord's Will? It means to pray according to HIS desires, not ours. Obviously, this takes a ton of focus, perspective-changing, and understanding. For someone who is a true follower of Christ, they desire the Lord's Will above all else. The more you spend time in God's Word and in obedience to Him, the more truth that is revealed to you and the more YOUR desires are now aligned to what He desires for your life.
What does it mean to pray in the Lord's Will? It means to pray according to HIS desires, not ours. Obviously, this takes a ton of focus, perspective-changing, and understanding. For someone who is a true follower of Christ, they desire the Lord's Will above all else. The more you spend time in God's Word and in obedience to Him, the more truth that is revealed to you and the more YOUR desires are now aligned to what He desires for your life.
As my husband and I deal with these hard circumstances in our lives, just like many of you are probably going through, we have to learn to trust in the Lord, trust that the Lord can change ALL situations, AND trust that the Lord is going to be glorified in WHATEVER happens. This is not easy. It takes many, many hours of praying, studying, and sometimes crying. But praise God for His goodness, for His patience, and His peace. Please, do not be mislead by these preachers who tell this "everything goes well for you when you give your life to Christ" version of Christianity, because it is not true. The very REASON we need Christ in this world is BECAUSE it is a fallen world