The Easton's Bible Dictionary defines God's sovereignty as His "absolute right to do all things according to his own good pleasure." The thing that always washes over me is the idea that God wishes to include us in His sovereign plans. Ephesians 2:10 tells us that "We are HIS workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
Part of the theology of the Vineyard church at large has been referred to as the "Now and the not yet" of the Kingdom of God. This means that God is at work in our time and space, but we do not see evidence of the completed finished work when it comes to us being salt and light in a dark world. We don't see the fullness of the Kingdom rule of God until Revelation 21:4 - "And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes, there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away."
So what do we see today in our world? Tears, death, sorrow, pain, and yet in the middle of these terrible things, we do see God continue to move and act as He desires.
The one thing that I have found to be true is when I pray for someone and they don't get healed, it leaves me with a lot of questions. I find myself asking "Did I do something wrong? Is my faith too small? Why did they not get healed?"
To be honest the answer is found in the "NOW AND NOT YET" of His Kingdom. My call is to be obedient and follow God's leading as I do pray. I know it can get frustrating when you pray for person after person and they aren't healed. Part of you screams out, "I'm not going to pray for anyone else if they are not going to get healed!" Well let me ask you this. How many WILL get healed if we do not pray for anyone? God is sovereign....I am not.
One view of healing that I think we overlook (or at least don't want to acknowledge) is the simple fact that if a person is a believer then death IS the ultimate healing. The one who dies has shed the confines of this world and now stands before the very one that created them. I remember when my mother was in the hospital and the doctors had said that it was only a short time before she died. I was young in my faith and I just knew that as I prayed my mom would be healed. I remember sitting by her bedside, holding her hand, praying with everything that was in me. Finally the time came and I watched her take her last breath. In that moment I was so mad at God. I had done what I thought He wanted of me. I had come before Him with my prayers on behalf of my mother, and she had died.
I remember a good friend, upon hearing the news of my mother's death, said, "Well Hallelujah." This caught me by surprise as I tried to make sense of the words. He went on to share that my mom had just experienced the ULTIMATE healing by going home to be with Jesus. Those words made more sense to me and comforted me more times than I could count as the years have passed.
If you read my previous posts then you remember how I referred to believers as being "conduits". We are merely vessels through which the power, love and grace of God flow as we pray for others. God ultimately decides the outcome. He is not a vengeful, spiteful, angry God with holding His goodness. He is a God who sees far beyond what you and I can see, grasp, or understand. God is sovereign. Notice I said "IS"....not "Was" or "Shall Be". He is sovereign right now, today.
With this in mind, then I will continue to pray...continue to love....continue to share with others. I hope I didn't muddy the waters (so to speak) with this posting today. I do pray that we all search our own hearts to find God's truth for our lives today. To find His desire for us all as His church. Pray for me, as I pray for you
God on you this day!
michael b.
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