Weekly Roundup on HEARING GOD WHEN WE CRY FOR HELP
By understanding the variety of answers God may have to our cries for help and healing, we will be better positioned to hear him and to receive what he wants to give us. Read more: www.prismaticjoy.com/post/god-s-healing
When we pray for help from trouble or relief from pain, one response God may give us is “YES, BUT WAIT.” In these instances, God does fix the problem, but his timing doesn’t exactly match ours. In fact, his timing may seem to be way, way off from our point of view. Read more: www.prismaticjoy.com/post/yes-but-wait
When we are suffering and pray to God for help, one of the answers he may give (and one that we don’t often think of) is, “YES, BUT FIGHT!” He wants us to get up and get into the battle. When we do our part, he will do his part! Read more: www.prismaticjoy.com/post/yes-but-fight
There is a response that God may give when we cry out for help that is, to me, one of the most tender answers we can ever hear. It is, “YES, BUT REST.” Rest is a gift from God, and it is often necessary before we can take the next step toward the healing of our hearts. Read more: www.prismaticjoy.com/post/yes-but-rest
Sometimes when we cry out to God for help, he may reply, “YES, BUT WRESTLE.” Instead of answers to our questions, God may call us to wrestle with him. To forge a new understanding of him that will be an unshakeable foundation for our faith. Read more: www.prismaticjoy.com/post/yes-but-wrestle
When we are in trouble or pain or suffering and cry out to God, there is a “Yes” from God we may receive that carries a condition: “YES, BUT CONFESS.” There are a lot of examples of this in Scripture, but the most famous is one we are all familiar with – good old Jonah. Read more: www.prismaticjoy.com/post/yes-but-confess
Sometimes when we entreat God to get us out of pain and suffering, God says “No” – yet even his “No” is the route to ultimate healing. For instance, we may sin and then cry out to God to get us out of the trouble we got ourselves into. In times like this, God might tell us, “NO; YOU MUST FACE THE CONSEQUENCES OF YOUR SIN.” Read more: www.prismaticjoy.com/post/no-you-must-face-the-consequences-of-your-sin
Here is another tough response God may have for us: sometimes, when we cry out for relief from the midst of our pain, God says in answer to our prayers, “NO; GET UP AND GET MOVING.” That’s what he did at one point with Jeremiah. Because, sometimes, we don’t need comfort. We need a kick in the pants. Read more: www.prismaticjoy.com/post/no-get-up-and-get-moving
There is a “no” answer that is probably the most famous of them all: “NO; MY GRACE IS SUFFICIENT.” God may not take the pain away. He may not give healing on this side of heaven. But, we can be assured that if he chooses to give us a “no,” then we will experience his grace and his power made perfect in us if we turn to him in trust and obedience. Read more: www.prismaticjoy.com/post/no-my-grace-is-sufficient
No discussion of pain and suffering would be complete without spending time with Job. Job cried out question after question to God, yet never was told the “why” of what had happened to him. In response to all Job’s questions, God said, “NO; I WILL NOT GIVE YOU ANY ANSWERS: I AM YOUR ANSWER.” In the same way, God is our Answer to every tragedy of life that we experience. Read more: www.prismaticjoy.com/post/no-i-am-your-answer
When we cry out to God for relief in the midst of our pain, there is a very difficult answer that we may receive. Sometimes, God says, “NO; THERE IS A PURPOSE TO YOUR PAIN.” We may not see that purpose, but we can endure knowing that, through our suffering, God will work something beautiful and great and good. His kingdom will come. Lives will be transformed. Souls will be snatched from the fires of hell. And when all suffering has passed, we shall know true joy. Read more: www.prismaticjoy.com/post/no-there-is-a-purpose-to-your-pain
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