Hello All,
I may have blogged before about a time in my life that was very influential to my development as a Christian, a drummer and a Pastor. It was during my time with Pastor Rod Collins, when I was playing in the Saturday Night Life worship band. Someday, I'll write more about what that means, but I was musing on a certain song that became an anthem at SNL.
It was called "His Banner Over Me." At one point in the song, the words would say "His banner over you, his banner over me, his banner over us, is love, love, love." What I will always remember about this particular song, was that when we came to this part, the band would point at each other. "His banner over you..." Kim would point at Joe, Scott would point at Kenny, etc. It was a sweet time.
At the end of that song, after talking about the Lord's banner over our lives, a picture of His protective providence in the lives of believer's lives, we sang a lyric that stated, "You do all things well, just look at our lives!"
This particular song lyric rang in my heart this week as I heard whispers and rumors of God's work in people's lives that I have been praying for for what feels like an eternity. In most of these situations, there have been times when it seemed like their trial would end. News would come and it would sound like God was done testing them. And then, a new turn would show itself, and we were back to prayer, praying for the cessation of the trial.
In most of these cases, we have asked the question, "Lord, how long will you allow this to continue?" I'll be honest, I have never heard Him answer this. I have never heard Him give me a definitive timeline. His answer is generally reflective of His Word. "Let patience have her perfect work...." "I am the Lord..." "I will never leave nor forsake..."
I have told people for years that God never tells them the end of their story. For one, such knowledge is worthless in the middle of pain. I mean, who when they are in pain care to hear, someday you will be healthy/whole/released. That never helps in the moment, at least not in a abiding way. It might give that person a ray of hope, but their present pain circumstance is still right there in that moment.
But even more, if God told you how He was going to answer something, you would not believe it! You can't see how He is going to orchestrate someone's repentance. You can't see how He is going to change a heart and a mind. At that point in linear time, we cannot fathom the Father's wisdom and plan.
So, it's back to prayer, feeling helpless, though our hearts know that we are winning, and drawing from the only resource that we have that we know is proven. You keep praying, seeking and knocking, hoping for a resolution, but being drawn instead into a heart that is beginning to rest in God's work.
It's when that happens in my life, when I am absolutely at the end of my rope, that God brings relief and answers. Two scenarios happened like that this week. Time will tell if this is not just another turn in the road or not, but if these things play out like they sound, I will have truly witnessed some miracles!
It leads me back to what I started with. God does all things well! I would have had Him relieve the pressure. I would have had Him shortcut the process. I would have settled for much less. I wanted relief; He wanted to show His power!
Truthfully, I pray that these things resolve in this way. But what if they don't? What if I go back to prayer and wrestle and struggle with the Lord some more? Either way, God gets more of what He is interested in: The development of my character and the character of the ones that I am praying for! Both parties go back to reliance and trust in the Lord, and reaffirm their allegiance to the God that we trust is just doing what He does...well!
Blessings...To Our Friends,
Frank Sanchez
I may have blogged before about a time in my life that was very influential to my development as a Christian, a drummer and a Pastor. It was during my time with Pastor Rod Collins, when I was playing in the Saturday Night Life worship band. Someday, I'll write more about what that means, but I was musing on a certain song that became an anthem at SNL.
It was called "His Banner Over Me." At one point in the song, the words would say "His banner over you, his banner over me, his banner over us, is love, love, love." What I will always remember about this particular song, was that when we came to this part, the band would point at each other. "His banner over you..." Kim would point at Joe, Scott would point at Kenny, etc. It was a sweet time.
At the end of that song, after talking about the Lord's banner over our lives, a picture of His protective providence in the lives of believer's lives, we sang a lyric that stated, "You do all things well, just look at our lives!"
This particular song lyric rang in my heart this week as I heard whispers and rumors of God's work in people's lives that I have been praying for for what feels like an eternity. In most of these situations, there have been times when it seemed like their trial would end. News would come and it would sound like God was done testing them. And then, a new turn would show itself, and we were back to prayer, praying for the cessation of the trial.
In most of these cases, we have asked the question, "Lord, how long will you allow this to continue?" I'll be honest, I have never heard Him answer this. I have never heard Him give me a definitive timeline. His answer is generally reflective of His Word. "Let patience have her perfect work...." "I am the Lord..." "I will never leave nor forsake..."
I have told people for years that God never tells them the end of their story. For one, such knowledge is worthless in the middle of pain. I mean, who when they are in pain care to hear, someday you will be healthy/whole/released. That never helps in the moment, at least not in a abiding way. It might give that person a ray of hope, but their present pain circumstance is still right there in that moment.
But even more, if God told you how He was going to answer something, you would not believe it! You can't see how He is going to orchestrate someone's repentance. You can't see how He is going to change a heart and a mind. At that point in linear time, we cannot fathom the Father's wisdom and plan.
So, it's back to prayer, feeling helpless, though our hearts know that we are winning, and drawing from the only resource that we have that we know is proven. You keep praying, seeking and knocking, hoping for a resolution, but being drawn instead into a heart that is beginning to rest in God's work.
It's when that happens in my life, when I am absolutely at the end of my rope, that God brings relief and answers. Two scenarios happened like that this week. Time will tell if this is not just another turn in the road or not, but if these things play out like they sound, I will have truly witnessed some miracles!
It leads me back to what I started with. God does all things well! I would have had Him relieve the pressure. I would have had Him shortcut the process. I would have settled for much less. I wanted relief; He wanted to show His power!
Truthfully, I pray that these things resolve in this way. But what if they don't? What if I go back to prayer and wrestle and struggle with the Lord some more? Either way, God gets more of what He is interested in: The development of my character and the character of the ones that I am praying for! Both parties go back to reliance and trust in the Lord, and reaffirm their allegiance to the God that we trust is just doing what He does...well!
Blessings...To Our Friends,
Frank Sanchez
No comments:
Post a Comment