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Thoughts for a Woman's Heart |
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encouragement in things that matter |
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Oops!
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More than once, I have been the patient on an operating table. I have always been one to encourage others that we need a sense of being able to trust the doctor or doctors that we choose – especially a surgeon. For most of the surgeries I’ve had, I was adequately anesthetized, but I was still awake and at least somewhat aware of what was going on around me. Awareness of my surroundings doesn’t necessarily calm my spirit, but imagine my emotional state if suddenly the surgeon’s voice had pierced the operating room with a very discernable, "Oops!" That is not what a patient wants to hear. As a parent, I have occasionally cautioned a distressed spouse who was weary with misbehavior, and had grabbed onto the closest presumed culprit, "Be sure you have the right kid." Contrary to the possibility of a highly skilled surgeon making a mistake, and contrary to the accidental disciplining of the wrong kid, there are no such possibilities with God. You will never hear God say, "Oops!" nor will you ever hear God say, "I got the wrong kid." There are no accidents or surprises with God. In Jeremiah, God promises His chosen people, the Jews, who are entering into seventy years of captivity under Babylonian rule, "I know the plans I have for you. They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." David gives a similar testimony to God’s knowledge and His presence in our lives when he speaks of God both preceding and following him, and placing His hand of blessing on his head. Paul assures us that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. Later, Paul gives a reminder to the Philippians that God, who began the good work within them, would continue his work until it is finally finished. I can almost hear your heart speaking. What about the tragedies that have seemed to crush the very life from me? What about the horrors that fill our newspapers? Evil cannot originate with God, but God can use even evil to bring about good. And the tragedies, the hardships, the losses that may be part of our lives call us to a deep level of trust in the purposes and love of our sovereign God – a level of trust that can draw from His grace and rest in the bosom of His Father-heart. God did not say "Oops!" when our first child was born after a full-term pregnancy without the capacity to sustain life. When we said "good-bye" to Tonia, we said "yes" to the incredible plan of God that was to begin to unfold even through the tears. God wants to use each of our lives to glorify Him in our ordinary places. The plans that are unfolding for you – He knows, He is accomplishing His purposes, His Father-heart is for you, and His boundless grace and love long to enable you. There is no "Oops!" |
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— Bev |
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