Taking Things for Granted

Day 38 of 365...

Exodus 25-27

Key Passages/Thoughts:



Ex 25:16 - "Put the tablets of the testimony that I will give you into the ark."


How awesome would it be to have a written testimony of what God said carried around in a ornate container that was built to the specifics that God gave.  Well, 1 out of 2 isn't bad.  We DO have a written testimony of what God said, and it's 60+ books more than what the Israelites had!  I take for granted that that we have thousands of years of God's history that we can carry around in our hand, on our phones, listen to in our car, download on iTunes, and hear preached about  24 hours a day.  Let that sink in for a minute.  God's written Word is more accessible now than it has ever been!  Yet, there are still millions if not billions of people in this world who don't have a Scripture to read, much less know of God's redeeming love.  Then, I think about the  numerous translations of the Bible sitting on my shelf at home, and how easy it is to get a different translation if I wanted one.  Do I take all this for granted?  Every single day!  I hear stories of persecuted Christians in China who cling to one page torn out of the Bible because that's all they have access to, yet there are times when I'm too lazy or too busy to open the cover of the Bible that sits on my nightstand.  

Ex 25:21-22 - "Set the mercy seat on top of the ark and put the testimony that I will give you into the ark.  I will meet with you there above the mercy seat, between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the testimony; I will speak with you from there about all that I command you regarding the Israelites."

The Israelites had an ornate reminder of God's presence and God's Word in the form of the Ark of the Covenant.  Today, my reminder of God's presence is His Holy Spirit living in me.  My reminder of God's Word is, well, His Word.  So, that's 2 advantages over the Israelites.  I have all of God's spoken Word in the Scripture that I read, and I actually have God living inside my soul in the form of the Holy Spirit.  A third advantage we have over the Israelites is that God speaks directly to us.  We don't have to hear what He says through a third party.  God spoke to the Israelites through Moses and Aaron, but He speaks to me through His Holy Spirit.  I am so thankful that God saw it fit for me to live now as opposed to during the Israelites wilderness adventure.  I don't know if I would have survived very well during those times.


God I pray that I won't take the things You've given me for granted.  Thank You that You speak directly to me.  Thank You that I can read Your Word whenever I want.  God give me emptiness when I don't commune with You every day.  Help me to mourn for those who can't read Your Word and cry out for those who are persecuted for trying to read Your Word.

God's Treasure Map

Day 37 of 365...

Exodus 22-24

Key Passages/Thoughts:



Ex 23:20-26 - "'I am going to send an Angel before you to protect you on the way and bring you to the place I have prepared.  Be attentive to Him and listen to His voice. Do not defy Him, because He will not forgive your acts of rebellion, for My name is in Him. But if you will carefully obey Him and do everything I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and a foe to your foes.  For My Angel will go before you and bring you to the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites, and Jebusites, and I will wipe them out.  You must not bow down to their gods or worship them. Do not imitate their practices. Instead, demolish them and smash their sacred pillars to pieces.  Worship the Lord your God, and He will bless your bread and your water. I will take away your illnesses.  No woman will miscarry or be barren in your land. I will give you the full number of your days.'"


Here we have some important promises from God to the Israelites, but they come with some stipulations.  You would think that after all they had been through, all the things they saw God do, the Israelites would be able to follow a few commands in order to receive the "reward," so to speak.  Talk about a payoff, though!  God promised to be enemy to their enemies, a foe to their foes, He will defeat all their enemies.  Now, I realize that this was a promise made to a particular group of people (and I'm not in that particular group of people), but the core of the message is something that can still be applied today.  God keeps His Word, and there is no argument about that.  


Let's put some application to it....  When I am in God's Word and seeking to hear from Him on a daily basis, He begins to speak to me through Scripture.  That means, whatever He says to me through Scripture is something that I can fully rely on.  The key point in the process is that it is God's voice that I am listening to.  God's voice will always align with His Scripture, so there is no confusion.  Once I have discerned that it is God speaking to me, I can trust what He says.  He doesn't always make promises to me, but He does tend to give me some guidelines I need to follow.  To me, it's like following a treasure map.  I have to follow the clues to get to the treasure.  In my mind, the clues are the things (rules) that God has asked me to be faithful in following.  When I am faithful with those things, God gives me the payoff, the treasure.  Most of the time, it's a deeper and closer relationship with Him.  Other times, it's a thorn that is finally removed from my flesh.  The key to it all, though, is to be faithful in following the "clues," because, if I move my focus to the prize, it will never be found.  In my opinion, the real treasure is in the process, because that's where my relationship with God is refined.


God grant me the wisdom to discern Your voice above all the noise.  Help me to follow the tasks You've set before me.  Keep me focused on the process and not the prize.

Fear of God

Day 36 of 365...

Exodus 19-21

Key Passages/Thoughts:



Ex 20:18-21 - "All the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain surrounded by smoke. When the people saw it they trembled and stood at a distance.  'You speak to us, and we will listen,' they said to Moses, 'but don't let God speak to us, or we will die.'  Moses responded to the people, 'Don't be afraid, for God has come to test you, so that you will fear Him and will not sin.'  And the people remained standing at a distance as Moses approached the thick darkness where God was."


Can you imagine the site the Israelites were seeing?  I'm guessing our best fireworks show wouldn't compare what the Israelites were experiencing first hand.  I find it comical how many times God had to show His power to the Israelites...how quickly they forgot.  What I did realize, though, is that the Israelites still had a healthy fear of God.  The Hebrew word used here connotes reverence (yirah).  I feel as though I have a healthy fear/reverence for God, but, just like the Israelites, God has to remind me of His power.  The only reason I ever question God's power is when I have the thought that God either can't or wouldn't want to handle the mess I've created.  Obviously, these thoughts do not come from God.  This is Satan's way of distracting me from relying on God in every circumstance in my life.  God promises to never leave or forsake me, which is something I need to hear in those hard times. If I look at the track record I have with God, the times I become derailed are not because of something God did...it's because of some decision I made.  God is only as far away as I push Him.


Thank You God for Your faithfulness and power.  Help me to remember that You never let go of me even when circumstances seem overwhelming.

Yadah

Day 35 of 365...


Exodus 16-18


Key Passages/Thoughts:



Ex 17:11 - "While Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, but whenever he put his hand down, Amalek prevailed."

Surrender is defined as "to yield to the power, control, or possession of another upon compulsion or demand...to give oneself over to something as an influence."  When I read these three chapters of Exodus today, there were several topics that popped in my head.  In Chapter 16, we see the Israelites whining and complaining some more, but God still provided for them.  Then, in chapter 17, we see God's deliverance of Israel from a battle with the Amalekites.  Verse 11 of this chapter hit me like a ton of bricks.  The reason it hit me like that is because Moses paints a perfect picture of what surrender looks like.  


One of the things that defines me as a person is that I am a worshipper.  I look for ways to understand what worship is and what it looks like.  There are many different ways of worshipping, but, at the core of worship is bringing myself to a place of humility to cry out to a Living God who deserves all my praise.  There are also many different signs of worship, and I believe what I read in chapter 17 is one of those signs.  Moses lifted his hands to the heavens, and, when he did, Israel prevailed.  When he lowered his hands, Amalek prevailed.  When Moses showed a sign of surrender, God took that offering of humility and allowed Israel to prevail.  I believe it was because in Moses' sign of surrender, God's would receive the most glory through the Israelites victory. I did a little research on the Hebrew word used here in verse 11.  The Hebrew word is yadah, which means "to use (hold out) the hand; to throw (a stone or arrow) at or away; to revere or worship with extended hands."  The importance here is that the word is interchangeable.  In essence, Moses lifting his hands was a sign of worship and reverence toward God.  When I think about lifting my hands, I think about my children.  When my kids want attention and affection from me as their father, they usually come up to me with their arms lifted up.  They want me to pick them up and hold them, especially when I come home from work.  I am their safe place, their comfort, their protection.  It is the same way with our Heavenly Father.  Isn't that beautiful picture?  I lift up my hands toward my Father because I want to surrender myself to Him and let Him be my refuge, my comfort, my protection.  The biggest issue to overcome in worship is worrying about what others think about you when you worship.  The hurdle you have to jump over is caring more about experiencing God in a new, fresh way and caring less about those surrounding you.  Worship is a time to connect with our Father, and that should be the only thing on our minds.  It's a lot easier said than done, I know.  If we can find a way to maintain that kind of focus, then God can truly meet with us in a "burning bush" kind of way.  


God, I lift my hands to You in surrender.  Help me worship You with abandon and passion, because You are most glorified when I am surrendered.  You are indeed worthy of yadah!

Deliver Me

Day 34 of 365...

Exodus 13-15

Key Passages/Thoughts:



Ex 14:12 - "Isn't this what we told you in Egypt: Leave us alone so that we may serve the Egyptians? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness."

Ex 14:29-31 - "But the Israelites had walked through the sea on dry ground, with the waters like a wall to them on their right and their left. That day the Lord saved Israel from the power of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore.  When Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and believed in Him and in His servant Moses."


There are times when I forget the things that God has done for me.  It's clear that the Israelites have this problem, too.  There were under such oppression in Egypt that everyone was crying out to be delivered from it.  Then, God sent Moses and the plagues, and they were delivered.  As the Israelites traveled through the wilderness, they reached the banks of the Red Sea.  It is here that Pharaoh's army catches up to the Israelites, and we hear the Israelites make the statement here in verse 12.  How quickly they have forgotten the power that God has and the power that God has shown.  Thankfully, God was not done showing them what He can do.  The term deliverance is defined as "the act of being set free."  God delivered His chosen people from Pharaoh twice.  He delivered them from slavery, and, then, He delivered them from an impending battle into freedom.  


As I look over the course of my life, I can remember certain times that God was my Deliverer.  I have had many "Red Sea" moments, but I still complain just as the Israelites did.  Thoughts come to my mind like...things sure were a lot easier when _____, or I sure do wish that God would _____.  God will remind me, in these moments, that His version of deliverance does not always match up with what my idea is.  My version usually ends with me still needed deliverance from something else I screwed up.  When God delivers me, I am truly set free from whatever was binding me up.  There is a sense of relief and comfort when God is the one taking the lead.  


God, help me rely on You to deliver me from the things that tie me up.  Help me be aware of the snares that are entangling me.  Cut me free from those things so that I can be restored in You.

Humility is a Humbling Experience

Day 33 of 365...

Exodus 10-12

Key Passages/Thoughts:



Ex 10:3 - "So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh and told him, 'This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: How long will you refuse to humble yourself before Me? Let My people go, that they may worship Me.'"

Humility is defined as "the quality or state of not thinking you are better than other people."  In these 3 chapters, we finish off hearing about the last 3 plagues (locusts, darkness and the death of the firstborn sons of the land).  This verse brought me to my knees, and I was only 3 verses into the reading.  The reason being is that I still struggle with humility in some areas of my life.  It's weird the way my mind works sometimes.  I feel as though most of my life reflects humility, however, there is still a piece of me that wants notoriety.  I don't mean notoriety in the sense of being famous.  I mean that I want people to appreciate and/or be aware of the things that I do.  The question is why do I want that kind of recognition?  Well, honestly, it goes back to my acceptance issues as a kid.  My desire to be accepted led to many years of being a fake, superficial, empty soul who would be anything for anyone.  Thankfully, God mended most of those wounds, but the scars are still there as a reminder of what once was.  There are still some wounds that haven't healed yet, though.  It is because of these wounds that I still have this desire to be recognized.  


Pharaoh had an obvious problem with humility.  He considered himself to be above everyone, even God.  It took 10 plagues, which included the death of his firstborn son, for Pharaoh to hit his knees.  Even then, he was still to proud to stay there.  I think one of the keys to being humble is that once you've been brought to your knees (or fall to your knees on your own), you need to remain there.  It's a lot easier to voluntarily fall to your knees in humility as opposed to being forced there through your circumstances.  Humility is a hard lesson to learn sometimes, but it is in those teachable moments that God shows me how to rely on Him even more.  


God, help me to humble myself daily and take up my cross.  Give me the strength to do it of my own volition and not because I need to learn a lesson.  

Plagues and Not Fighting Fairly

Day 32 of 365...


Exodus 7-9


Key Passages/Thoughts:



Ex 7:11-13 - "But then Pharaoh called the wise men and sorcerers—the magicians of Egypt, and they also did the same thing by their occult practices.  Each one threw down his staff, and it became a serpent. But Aaron's staff swallowed their staffs.  However, Pharaoh's heart hardened, and he did not listen to them, as the Lord had said."


Ex 9:16 - "However, I have let you live for this purpose: to show you My power and to make My name known in all the earth."

The first 7 plagues that God sent to Egypt were the water turning to blood, frogs, gnats, flies, death of livestock, boils and hail.  Pharaoh, in his arrogance, summons his "wise" men and sorcerers to try and recreate the plagues to show that God wasn't as powerful as Moses and Aaron made Him out to be.  However, after the first plague, the magicians were at a loss.  The first thing this passage tells me is that I have a powerful enemy.  The fact that these sorcerers could recreate any of the plagues shows that Satan is indeed formidable.  I think I take that for granted sometimes, and when I do, it usually comes back to bite me in the butt.  It also is quite obvious that Satan is very clever.  He usually doesn't fight fairly.  If I could see the enemy coming at me face to face, it would be a whole lot easier to fight him.  Satan doesn't operate that way.  He usually starts the fight without me even knowing it.  This is why it is so important for me to be in God's Word daily, because God can point out those little things that I don't even realize before they turn in to something much bigger, which brings me to my second point...


Pharaoh was one hard headed dude, and so am I.  Even in the midst of all these plagues, Pharaoh still didn't believe and let the Israelites go.  At times, I'm not all that different though.  It goes back to what I've written about before...I want God to answer my prayers the way I want them answered.  The other issue is that I'm too stubborn to give up the area of my life that God is trying to work on.  The easy answer is to take up my cross (die to myself) daily and follow Him and everything works itself out in God's way.  The hard answer is to take up my cross (die to myself) daily and follow Him and everything works itself out in God's way.  Either way, there is some dying that needs to take place.  I've been through the hardened heart phase of my life, and I never want to return.  Thankfully, it didn't take 10 plagues to bring me out of it!


God, reveal to me the areas in my life that I'm too stubborn.  Help me to gives those areas over to You.  Break down the footholds that Satan may have in my life, especially the ones I may not be aware of yet.  Continue to purify me.

Speaking with Power and Conviction

Day 31 of 365...


Exodus 4-6


Key Passages/Thoughts:



Ex 4:10-12 - "But Moses replied to the Lord, 'Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent—either in the past or recently or since You have been speaking to Your servant—because I am slow and hesitant in speech.'  The Lord said to him, 'Who made the human mouth? Who makes him mute or deaf, seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?  Now go! I will help you speak and I will teach you what to say.'"


I have to be honest...I've used the same excuse that Moses did.  I have said numerous times to numerous people that I'm "not good at talking to someone about my faith...I'm more of a lifestyle evangelist."  As I get older, I realize what load of junk that is.  In my opinion, if you can't talk to someone else about your relationship with God, then you need to question your relationship with God.  There was a time in my life where I felt more comfortable standing up and talking to 2,500 people than talking with one person.  God began to show me that it's was lot easier to hide my broken relationship with Him from a stage than from a personal conversation.  When I came to that realization, it was painful.  Why?  I had to come to grips with the fact that I didn't have much of a relationship with my Heavenly Father.  God had to remind me of what drew me near to Him to begin with.  In reality, when God brought me to this point, all of my relationships were strained (marriage, kids, friends).  The reason was because I was putting up a facade of what I wanted people to think about me.  During this time, it's easy to see why I wasn't comfortable talking to someone about God, because all the things I knew about Him at this point were facts and nothing about a relationship.  It's uncomfortable to talk to someone about something you don't know much or anything about. 


Let's fast forward a bit.  Now, I have no problem talking to one person or thousands of people about my relationship with God.  Why?  Because I have one!  When I hear people make this same excuse Moses did (and I did), I begin to pray for their relationship.  Once God rekindles the flame He lit inside you, it's hard to NOT share it with someone.  It has never been easier to talk to someone about my faith because that's all I know.  In the past, it was just a small compartment of my life.  Now, it IS my life!  There is no part of my life that God hasn't infiltrated.  It's interesting to be on the other side of this excuse now.  As I look back, I begin to realize that "lifestyle evangelism," while important, is just a ploy Satan uses to con people into thinking that they are living for God. During my "lifestyle evangelism" phase, I never felt more empty and useless.  Before I get raked over the coals about "lifestyle evangelism," let me say that my lifestyle should most definitely reflect God's ideals.  However, my lifestyle should be an outpouring of the convictions God has revealed to me in my relationship with Him.  Otherwise, I am just giving in to "positive" peer pressure.  In other words, if I see another "Christian" person doing something, then I should do it, too, because that's what a "Christian" should do.  The other side of that coin is that I am in constant conversation and relationship with God.  God convicts of something I'm doing or not doing in my life and I make necessary changes to alleviate that problem.  Which do you think would promote a conversation about what God is doing in my life?  Which would I feel more comfortable talking about?  I've found that the reason it is easy to speak now is because the Spirit is speaking through me.  I am no longer "trying to say the right thing."  It takes all the pressure off of me when I rely on God to speak through me.  


God, continue to give me the courage and desire to spread Your name and Your glory through the things You've done in my life.  Give me opportunities to speak with boldness and conviction.

Setting My Watch to God's Time

Day 30 of 365...


Exodus 1-3


Key Passages/Thoughts:



Ex 2:23-25 - "After a long time, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned because of their difficult labor, and they cried out; and their cry for help ascended to God because of the difficult labor.  So God heard their groaning, and He remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  God saw the Israelites, and He took notice."


Ex 3:7-8 - "Then the Lord said, 'I have observed the misery of My people in Egypt, and have heard them crying out because of their oppressors, and I know about their sufferings.  I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and to bring them from that land to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey....'"


The Israelites had been in slavery for a very long time at this point.  They had grown weary and tired of what they were going through.  I'm sure through the hundreds of years of slavery that they cried out too many times to count.  However, there is an important lesson to learn here.  First of all, I am no different that the Israelites.  I find ways to complain to God about many different things.  I become so impatient with my current situation that I forget that I was the one the landed me there.  I ask and ask for deliverance when God is wanting me to learn surrender.  In these passages, it says that God heard their cries or groaning or prayers or whatever else they spoke to Him.  It is here that I can find comfort.  God hears what I say to Him!  Let that sink in for a minute.  The Infinite, Holy, All-Powerful God hears the words that I speak to Him.  I can't fathom how much worse it would be if He didn't!  As I read this passage, I realized that God was telling me that He hears me.  Sure, I'm no different than the Israelites, but God reminded me that He heard their cries, and He hears mine, too. 


The other thing that I realized in this passage is that God's timing is the most important aspect of how and when my prayer is answered.  Usually, I want God to answer my request now, in the way I think it should be answered.  God almost always has something else in mind, and it always seems to work out better than I could have ever hoped for.  Sometimes it's painful, but, in the long run, it's what I needed.  This passage says that God heard their cries and Moses was the answer to their prayers, as we find out in future chapters.  Israel had to remain faithful through many generations before God answered their requests.  It kind of puts things into perspective.  I whine and complain to God when He hasn't answered my prayer in 24 hours.  God's desire to answer to my prayer is in direct correlation with my desire for His will and not my own.  When my desires line up with God's, I begin to pray God's heart.  It is here that God will receive all the glory for an answered prayer.


God give the desire to seek Your heart and Your heart only.  Thank You that You understand my desires and longings.  I pray You give me patience as I wait for Your response to my cries for my hope is only found in You.

Blessings Not Found in a Fortune Cookie

Day 29 of 365...


Genesis 48-50


Key Passages/Thoughts:



Gen 48:15-16 - "The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, 
the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day, the Angel who has redeemed me from all harm—may He bless these boys.  And may they be called by my name and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac, and may they grow to be numerous within the land."


Kids are a blessing not a curse.  I  know that sometimes kids may challenge that notion, but the reality is that they truly are a blessing.  I learn more about God by being a parent than I ever learned by not being one.  I finished up reading Genesis today (2 books down, 64 to go!).  Throughout this book, I noticed how fathers bestowed blessings on their children.  You don't really hear about that nowadays.  You see these men of God (Abraham, Jacob, etc.) blessing their children with thoughtful words and inspirational promises.  It got me to thinking about this question, "How do I bless my kids?"  


The initial response to that question, if it were posed to someone, is to respond with the possessions they bless their kids with.  I give my kids a roof over their head, clothes to wear, and food to eat.  Another response might be that they shower their kids with love and affection.  While these responses are important and necessary, I think the kind of blessing that is shown to us in the book of Genesis takes it several steps further.  When I read the kind of blessing Jacob bestows on his children I see a different response to that question.  The kind of blessing Jacob gives his children shows me two things.  First of all, Jacob knows his kids, and I mean understands them (on a spiritual level) and recognizes their gifts and talents.  This means that he is involved in their lives.  He cares about what they care about and desires to know them better.  The second thing I noticed is that the words Jacob speaks as a blessing have meaning and are well thought out.  This wasn't some fortune cookie blessing.  Jacob had a specific goal in mind when he spoke words over his sons.  These were words that Jacob had thought through for quite some time, perhaps even years!  The words that are spoken would remain with his sons for the rest of their lives, so they had impact!


As I look at my interaction with my children, I want my words to have eternal impact with them.  I have a lot of improvement to make in this area.  I want my kids to impact people for Christ...that is my goal as a parent.  It is my job to prepare them to do that very thing.  I want my words to be blessings and not curses.  I realize that, at times, this is difficult to communicate when kids are sick and irritable or cranky.  However, it is my job to navigate through those feelings and help my kids understand that we have a higher purpose in life.  I want to be able to bestow a blessing on my kids that will stay with them for the rest of their lives.  The process for that begin now, though.  I can't expect for them to receive those kinds of words if I'm not involved with their lives right now.  


God grant me the wisdom to teach my kids what they need to learn.  Give me the patience to train and discipline them.  Help me make disciples of my kids, so they can impact this lost world for You!  

Restoration

Day 28 of 365...


Genesis 46-47


Key Passages/Thoughts:



Gen 46:30 - "Then Israel said to Joseph, 'At last I can die, now that I have seen your face and know you are still alive!'"


Restoration is defined as "bringing back to a former position or condition."  For many years Jacob thought his son was dead.  The heartache and pain involved with that were, at times, unbearable I would imagine.  Throughout the days, weeks, months and years that followed, Jacob stayed faithful to the God of his fathers.  It is a testament to standing on what you believe.  Even in Jacob's darkest times, he turned to the One who promised to be with him no matter what.  It is in this resting place that Jacob must have come to peace despite his circumstances.  Then, we fast forward to the day he hears about his son, Joseph, being alive.  Imagine the emotions that would have rushed through him.  Jacob is in the latter years of his life, and his sons return from Egypt with the news that Joseph is, indeed, alive.  Not only that, but Joseph is in a place of prominence under Pharaoh's household.  Talk about adding years to your life!!  Jacob makes the journey to see his son that was dead but is now alive.  It is here that we hear Jacob utter the words in the passage above.  This is a picture of restoration.  It is almost as if God rewarded Jacob's faithfulness with the return of his son.  Not only that, but God will fulfill his promise to Jacob and cause many descendants to come from Joseph's line, including Jesus!!  


As I read through this story, I am reminded that faithfulness, at times, is all I have to cling to.  There are times when everything is crashing down around me, and all I can do is trust that God has got is under control.  Does God always promise restoration?  This is a hard question to answer.  I believe my thoughts of restoration and God's way of restoration do not always match up.  Again, here is opportunity for God to teach me something through His eyes and not mine.  Sometimes, things happen to me that I consider unjust or unwarranted, but God reminds me that His ways are not my ways.  God uses those instances to shift the way I think so that I am more aligned with Him.  Is it fair?  I am in no position to tell God whether something is fair or not.  Is it fair that my son has cystic fibrosis?  As a human, living in a fallen world, my inclination is to say no!  I'm sure that God's heart breaks for the things my son has had to endure.  However, I am reminded that I live in a fallen world where death and disease run rampant.  This was not God's decision...it was man's.  So, I pose the question again, is it fair that my son has CF?  Whether it's fair or not is not my decision, the reality is that he does.  I have to rely on the fact that God can still use this horrible disease to teach me and my son something more about Him and us.  It is here that restoration happens.  It only happens through Him!


God grant me peace during the times when I need restoration but have not received it yet.  Help me to see through Your eyes.  Help me to endure.  Although the process may be long, help me to remain faithful to what You've called me to do.