Faithfulness Part 2

Continuing from part 1 the lesson went on to talk about times in our life when we don't understand why things happen. Why is child taken away from us to be with the Lord, why a loved one is not healed of the cancer and goes home to be with the Lord. Durring the times we pray for the healing and it just doesn't come. I once heard say we're always asking for healing but never do we ask for God's will to be done in their lives. It changed the way I pray for people now. Look at Job who lost everything from possesions to family yet through it all he had faith in God. In the end God blessed more than he could have imagined. I think we become so selfish of our family we want them to stay with us when we know the minute they're in heaven they are healed and restored. My family went through this last November with the death of my aunt. She had Breast Cancer. She had been through so much in her life and then the cancer came yet through it all she was faithful to God. She had such a ministry with those around her and in her hospital stays. I remember my cousin telling me how the nurses would come to her room on break just to talk to her. She didn't care that they were of different religions. God gave us more time with her than we ever expected. He let her be in remission for about 10 years before it came back and began to spread. I remember one of my cousins bargining with God if he would just let his mom live he would change his life. I think in some ways he's still bitter about that. He knows his mom is now healed but he doesn't have faith in God. Beth pointed out in the lesson "What about those times when He obviously allows your loved one with cancer to glorify HIm through restoration in heaven and not on earth...If your faith is based on what God is doing, you are in for the scariest ride of your life." We will never be able to understand why God allows things to happen. Isaiah 55:8-9 His thoughts are not ours his ways and thoughhts are higher than ours (summarized). When we think God is not doing anything he may be doing more than we could ever imagine. Having faith in what God does is not faith at all. It's based on God but only by what we can see. Hebrews 11:1 Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the Evidence of things not see. Beth ends this section of the lesson with "The faith of the faithless says, "If God is not obvious, He is obviously not God." I've seen so many friends, family, and myself have this reaction at one time or another. While you may think you've never had this type of reaction I'm sure if you look back at some situations you'll find at least one.