God Alone

The following is a post from Lori…

God constantly challenges us with each second of every day. Some get challenged more than others. Sometimes I feel like I’m just a slow learner so God is extra tough on me….but I seriously know that if my life were easy, I would stray away from God very easily and try things on my own, which we all know would be a total disaster for all involved!

Our family deals with a lot of “picky inny” medical issues. Nothing horribly serious, but just pain in the butt stuff. Court is undergoing some tests this week of a not so pleasant nature. Because we used to live in New Jersey, we kept some of our specialists down there so these tests are performed in NJ. The prep for digestive procedures is not fun. In fact, it’s downright gross. Part of God’s funny sense of humor, I think. And yes, God does have a sense of humor. Anybody looked in the mirror today? (just kidding). We had to be in NJ (Ocean City) very early this a.m. We got up at 3:30 a.m. Got down to the hospital, and we were told we were three hours early, which meant, we could have slept a little longer. Ok, wait three more hours. Court goes back and they begin the procedure, which cannot be completed for reasons I will not elaborate on, but a comedy of errors ensued, well maybe it wasn’t comedy, but you get my point. But now she needs to repeat a more vigorous type prep in the next two days and return for the test again on Thursday. Again? Doesn’t God know we are busy? Doesn’t God care that we have a party and a yard sale on Saturday to prepare for? Doesn’t God care that I work ten hours every day? Doesn’t God care that my daughter is going to get really sick from all these preps? Does God have any idea how tired I am?

The awesome answer would be YES, God does care. Matthew 10:29-31 says, “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” He cares about the sparrows, and even the hairs (or lack of hair) on our heads! He sent His Son to die for all of us. Of course He cares! And we know the standard one, “cast all your cares on Him, for He cares for you.” It’s easy to get angry and want to blame someone. Sometimes, things just happen for us to stop long enough to remember who is in control of our lives.

God gave us a beautiful day to drive down. He gave us one on one time to talk, laugh, cry, be angry (yes, I’m sorry to say we were). But God is God. He doesn’t need MY permission to change MY plans, which are usually calculated to the second. He is God. Sometimes we forget. One of my favorite songs is by Phillips, Craig & Dean, called “You are God Alone” – my favorite words are the chorus:

You are not a god created by human hands
You are not a god dependant on any mortal man
You are not a god in need of anything we can give
By your plan, that’s just the way it is.

You are God alone, from before time began
You were on your throne, You are God alone.
And right now, in the good times and bad
You are on your throne, you are God alone.

He cares enough that He brought us together to be a team to do a great work for people He cares for in the Dominican Republic. Let’s start now by praying for each other, our ministry and the people we will be ministering too! As a body, we can do much for Him