“Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.” Jeremiah 32:17 NIV
This verse plays like a song in my head. I have sung it so many times in the past twenty-four hours. (If you’ve never heard it, look it up!) For me, it is accompanied by precious memories of my late grandmother. When speaking of something the Lord had done or of a looming problem, her eyebrows would suddenly rise, her face would brighten, and her hands would wave as she began singing this song to me.
These past few weeks have been a long, heavy list of seemingly impossible requests to God for friends and family. Many people I love are struggling- some with addictions of various kinds, some with hopeless thoughts, and others have just plain turned their backs on God to pursue their own desires. The burden on my soul for them is so pressing that it’s hard to make small talk with friends these days. I want to DO something! I want to run in and save the day! But with each failed attempt toward that end, I am humbled into realizing I have no power of my own. No matter how I deliver a speech or how many things I do, the outcome is ultimately up to God. Therefore, I am reminded to pray fervently and wait on the Holy Spirit to guide my every endeavor. His timing is key.
So I have committed to praying for them. But you know what? I can’t even do THAT well. I write reminders, set timers, and still find myself bringing them before the Lord significantly less than I’d hoped. Plus, when I DO pray, it’s all tainted with sin. My pride, my hopelessness, my frustration, my control. I, a sinner, am praying for my friends to recognize their sin. It’s shameful. But it’s not ugly to my Father. He saw it all before and made a way for me to come into His presence to beg on behalf of my friends. When I come to Him broken in spirit over my lack of control over this stubborn body and will, He sees me as forgiven and clean. The awareness of that fact leads me to continue interceding.
Here’s the beautiful part: every single day there is evidence of Him working if I’m paying attention. No, it might not be how I would do it and may seem excruciatingly slow, but I trust His way is best. Things I’ve prayed over for years are bubbling and brewing in the open now. The problem may not be solved for another couple years, but I’m so thankful for the way He works. When looking back on answered prayers from the past, the solutions always came at just the right time to be able to point many others to Christ through them- not just the person struggling. And He’s training me to lean on Him versus on myself- a concept that my grandmother understood. My children may not have met her, but they get to see her faith lived on in our family. As they tell me of struggles in their lives, how special to be able to brighten my face and sing this song to them!
Oh Lord God! Thou hast made the heavens and the earth by THY GREAT POWER! NOTHING is too difficult for Thee!
Abba Father, thank You for Your goodness, Your power, Your love, and Your perfect wisdom. Where I fail, You are successful. Where I am ignorant, You are all-knowing. Thank You for using simple-minded, weak sinners like me to accomplish Your purposes. My joy is found in You alone. May all reading this and all my friends and family find their joy in You alone. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.
“So the angel explained that it was the following message of the LORD to Zerubbabel: I am the LORD All-Powerful. So don’t depend on your own power or strength, but on my Spirit.” Zechariah 4:6 CEV
“I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.” 2 Timothy 1:5