Monday, September 12, 2016

Re-Markable


The work of God to shape and heal us is a good thing. 

He will have been about preparation before any “surgery” we need, getting us ready for the procedure, the immediate recovery, and the on-going healing.  He is not a knife-happy God putting us through things that are not for our well-being, our freedom, and our eventual—if not immediate—joy.

When He takes things off of us we will probably feel the immediate cut. He doesn’t numb us totally for the process, which can scare the living daylights out of us when we see the knife or needle coming our way and feel it penetrate our flesh.  Maybe it is because it is important for us to be awake and aware of the process, the significance of the work, and to be able to mark the day of His handiwork and care, even if we can only see the benefits down the road.  He also seems to operate more like a MASH unit, where we get surgery right on the field, not tucked away in some insulated setting and remote-location recovery spot where that is the only thing to be about.  We get to experience it all right in the midst of real life.  And somehow He gives us what we need to do it that way.  Grace and mercy are actual things that we receive.

We miss many of His best gifts because we have to trust His heart for what doesn’t appear on the surface to be and feel beneficial.  He knows what is dead (or deadly) inside us.  He never removes anything that is essential for our life, though we have probably gotten so familiar and comfortable with it that it feels like a security blanket. 

His work is always a good thing.  O God, let me be teachable all of my days and stay on the surgical table as long and as often as you ask.  You are not asking me to reside in a hospital bed endlessly, but enabling me to dance. 

 
Photograph from morguefile.com by GraveDistractions

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