Heart Tracks - Outcomes

"Be still and know that I am God." Psalm 46:10

I don't know anyone who doesn't love to quote Psalm 46:10. Loving to live it out is another matter altogether.

Lisa TerKeurst, appearing on James Robison's Life Today, was sharing about her newest book, It's Not Supposed To Be This Way. She spoke of how her life was simultaneously hit with the double tragedy of a failing marriage and a life threatening physical condition. The former had been building for quite some time, the latter was very recent. Neither had any place in what she thought her life would be. Both were the focus of intense prayer on her part. She was in deep physical, emotional, and spiritual pain. She wanted all of it be made right, for all the pain to just end. She wanted God to act, and do away with all of it. Yet the pain went on.

Her physical condition came upon suddenly and reached such a state that she had to be hospitalized. She said that she lie in a hospital bed for three days in constant, agonizing pain. They couldn't find out what was wrong with her, and so great was her suffering that she said each minute seemed like an eternity. No pain killing medication worked, but finally, a specialist ran a certain test, and they discovered that her colon was twisted around and threatened to kill her. The Doctor told her that it was extremely fortunate that none of the medications took away the pain, for if they had, they likely would not have discovered the real threat to her life. God used her pain to bring about a means for her eventual healing. Romans 8:28 came alive before her eyes; God works all things together for good for those who are His." All things, even the worst, most painful things. For those who love Him. For those who know Him, trust Him, and by His grace, can eventually be silent before Him.

TerKeurst said something else that should speak to us all. She said that God used all her suffering to teach her that in her prayer life, she was "much too attached to outcomes," rather than yielded to Him. She had outcomes for her prayers written down on her heart and mind. It was how God should work. How He must work. She learned that all her expected outcomes had to be surrendered to Him. She wanted the pain to go away, had the Father done so, her twisted colon would have killed her. The outcome she wanted was one that would have brought her great harm. So often, the outcomes we want in our needs, situations, dangers and pain will do the same.

She took this new found knowledge to heart in her prayers about her marriage, and in time, God began a work of reconciliation between she and her husband. She surrendered the outcome to Him. She became still, and discovered anew, that He is God. Can we do the same? The outcomes in our lives may not be what we wanted at all, but He will work it all for good and the final outcome for us is yet to come. Trust Him with it. Be still. Know once more that He is God.

Blessings,
Pastor O