It has been about three months since I was healed by God. And I think I have learned more in these three months than I did during my affliction. And that is saying something. So, now that I am healed, now what?
Honestly, that is a loaded question. And there are many different answers that can apply. I think I will tackle at least one for now.
What am I to do now? This is where the rubber met the road for me. Two days before my healing I was in the ER. And for a totally different reason. I was diagnosed with hyperthyroid. Wow. I did not see that one coming at all. I did not know at the time that my affliction was days away from healing, not that it would change the significance of it. My initial reaction was shock. I was still in the pain and now I have a new problem. I know, whine, whine, whine. I am being honest here. This is where the learning came in. I realized that I complained (well, that should be in present tense too) far more often than praising Jesus. That is the key right there. I am made for worship. I am to be content in whatever state I find myself.
Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned to be content with whatever I have. Philippians 4:11
During my affliction, I can honestly say that that verse did NOT describe me. I was usually bemoaning my lot in life. That is not a way to handle things. I am to praise Him, no matter what. When I was studying Philippians in August I stopped at this word, LEARNED. I outlined it in green in my Bible. I meditated on it and I came to the conclusion that this is where God wants me to walk. I believe that the almost-5 years of my affliction were to help me realize that I have not arrived, I have a long way to go, and I am now to focus my attention on contentment. Not that I did not strive for that before, but now it has a whole new meaning. Really be content.
But it is more than that. If I strive for contentment then the focus is all about me. But…..if I spend my time in praise and worship of my Almighty God, then it is all about Him. And that is exactly where it should be.
I am at a point in my life where I am spending way more time worrying and living in fear than I ever have. How can this be? I think because the thyroid disease is a little scary for me, honestly. I realized that I was operating like this and my sweet husband even pointed it out to me. Uh-oh. I have a problem. Here I am in the light of an huge healing and I am living in FEAR???!!! This has got to change. About this time we were doing the 40 Days of Prayer in our church and it really hit home for me. In those 40 days I came to the conclusion that I needed to change. I needed to be about the business of praise for the King of kings. Period. No more whining. Praise.
I even made a commitment to spend more time in praise, intentional praise throughout my day.
So, how do I do that?
Since I have identified my weakness for fear right now, I decided to fight fire with fire. When I find myself doubting, worrying, etc, I turn it into praise. I even begin the day on A. I praise God for an attribute of His that begins with an A, ACTIVE, for example. Then the next time it is B, and so on. True confessions – I was in the second set of the alphabet one day last week. This game has turned my eyes away from me and put them where they rightfully belong – on my Saviour. And it is no laughing matter how important praise is. My whole outlook has shifted. My health hasn’t, in fact it is pretty troublesome, but my mind is filled with praise.
In this journey that I find myself. I have asked the Lord to increase my faith. I figured that I might as well get it all on the table. Because, faith is what I need. More and more faith. So, like the apostles,
And the apostles said unto the Lord, “Increase our faith.” Luke 17:5
Even if I have faith the size of a mustard seed, I can tell the mulberry tree to move (Luke 17:6). Now we are talking. I have a faith that is at times very small – so I say to this tree, “Move!!!” There, I said it and I stand on the promises that the power that raised Christ Jesus from the dead is in me (Romans 8:11). God will increase my faith by giving me circumstances in which I can trust Him more and more. I say, let Him. Where can I be but in the very center of His will?
If there is anything that I have learned and am learning, is to stay in God’s will. And from what I have recently learned, by giving Him praise and my worship I am exactly where He wants me to be.
Come what may.
My God, my Jesus is AWESOME. He is ABLE. He is WORTHY. HE IS FOR ME. HE IS A GOOD GOD.
