Being Healed From A Desire To Be Healed


The Apostle Paul prayed for God to remove his thorn in the flesh. Commentators have debated what that thorn was. See this link for some ideas. I think it was Paul's eyes because he alludes to eye problems elsewhere and often does not write in his own hand. That would have to be quite frustrating for a teacher and a preacher to not be able to see well, and perhaps there was a physical pain associated with  the debility. The cadence of his words would seem to indicate physical distress.

Jesus acknowledges Paul's prayer and his pain but basically says "no." Only in the modern age to do we think a "no" is not answering prayer. Not answering would be no answer, like a phone ringing endlessly, with the receiver ignoring it. A "No" answer is picking up the phone  and saying "no" to whatever the caller wants. The best law ever? The "No Call" list! Thanks be to God that He permits us to call, even with our annoying and cloying petitions.

I can tell you from experience with a bad knee that chronic pain can drive one crazy. Chronicity, pain 24-7, certainly can create a degree of madness. In my life, prayer for the knee pain to end is number one in terms of time and effort. No healing from it but my acceptance of God's will to allow it to persist for His own reasons. God could but won't.  But, Lord, I wanted to be  an NBA star for you. Right. And Me.     

So, the question then becomes, "Why would God say "No" when He clearly could say and do "Yes?" That is a hard question to answer because no one knows the mind and will of the Almighty. I think Jesus's reply to Paul is instructive though. Jesus tells Paul "No healing" to his prayer, and then adds that His grace is sufficient and made perfect in Paul's weakness. There is a greater grace in not healing Paul because  he remains dependent on Christ for grace specifically because of his weakness. Paul accepts the answer, actually embraces the answer, and then moves on emotionally. Not holding onto what God has told him to let go.

Is it not true if God gave us everything we think we needed and wanted, it would often be the case that we would not seek Him? Strength can lead to pride and pride is what started the whole problem with pain to begin with in the Garden. God allows a wound to remain to keep us vulnerable. This a hard teaching  but one that we need to be mastered by. Otherwise, we are not accepting the healing that God is providing: His grace to handle the pain constructively by depending on Christ chronically. When we pass onto Glory, we will leave the pain behind. Until then, it remains and  we are to remain in Him.  

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Shake the Dust: Anis Mojgani

Pslam 90:2 "Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God." I am not real certain where Anis Mojgani comes from belief-wise. Cats like him tend to be synchrestic spiritually rather than Christ-centered. Yet, this poem captures the spirit of Jesus. What this poem also needs is grace....we shake off sin and mortality and take on Christ and immortality. This is for the fat girls This is for the little brothers For the former prom queen And for the milk crate ball players This is for the school yard wimps And the childhood bullies that tormented them Shake the dust. This is for the benches and the people sitting upon them. This is for the bus drivers driving a million broken hymns And for the men who have to hold down 3 jobs, Simply to hold up their children. For the nighttime schoolers And for the midnight bike riders trying to fly Shake the dust. For the two year olds who cann
Read more

White Shoes, White Stones

Rev 2:17 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches. To him that overcometh, to him will I give of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and upon the stone a new name written, which no one knoweth but he that receiveth it. (ASV) With the white stone mentioned above in the Scripture verse, "And will give him a white stone" it is "Supposed that by the white stone is meant pardon or acquittance, and the evidence of it; and that there is an allusion here to the custom observed by judges in ancient times, who were accustomed to give their suffrages by white and black pebbles; those who gave the former were for absolving the culprit, those who gave the latter were for his condemnation." (Clarke) What has brought about this essay was my purchasing the other day of some very white and new Nike jogging shoes. My old pair of Nike's have been worn down. I was developing serious pain in my feet which is a solid sign that it is t
Read more

Going Rogue: Dare, Risk, Dream

Image
I picked up a bumper sticker at a Pub recently from the Rogue Brewery . On it there are the words: DARE, RISK, DREAM. Typically, the word Rogue is a negative term. I will let you decide if Sarah Palin and her book has made the word less or more so. Initially, I taped the bumper sticker to my computer lap top with the backing still on it in case I wanted to remove it. Just a second ago, I committed fully, and pulled the backing off and affixed it to my Dell. No turning back. Is that not an illustration of how to accomplish great things? We have to stick and commit. If we go taping ourselves to the backs of things, it leads to easier removal but also to tepid efforts. Now, if I take this bumper sticker off the back of my lap top it is going to be a mess...I am all in. Consequences be damned. My summer vacation officially began today at noon (why else would I be blogging at 3:26 am?) and my creed for the summer is DARE, RISK, DREAM. A Kerouac quote to light the fireworks... "Great th
Read more