Almost ten years ago, I along with hundreds of others, prayed fervently for a close friend of mine, who was stricken with, and was dying of cancer. He did not want to die, and we certainly did not want him to die. Yet, it seemed that he got worse and worse in spite of our prayers. Finally he passed on, and it took me several years to come to grips with the finality of his passing. Part of it was asking why my prayers had not been answered. It took me a long time to realize, that God's will SUPERSEDES and trumps all our prayers and desires. Matt. 6, says, .."Thy Will be done in earth as it is in Heaven..." When I came to understand this, then I understood how important is the part that God plays in our lives, whether we acknowledge it or not. As I get closer to the end of my own life in this world, I am also coming to realize more and more, that everything starts and stops with God, and without Him there is nothing but emptiness and despair. With Him is the hope for this life, and more importantly, my hope for the next life.
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Amen. God is truly our all in all and our only hope for today and tomorrow, and for all eternity. "Because He lives, I can see tomorrow!"
(Boy, do I wish I could sing.)
My heart go out to you in the loss years ago of your close friend. Last year my best friend passed away from cancer. And though she was a month awau from her 84th birthday, it was still a huge loss, as she was closer to me than my mother. Plus, she had been the picture of health until she suddenly became ill the year before. And she'd also had me convinced that she would live to be at least 100. She had once told me, "If I don't make it to 100, you'll be looking at one disappointed ole soul in that casket."
Well, she didn't make it. And I can only hope that as the end grew nearer, she made peace with that.
At the same time, I often contemplate the 2 sides of the question that your writing raises. This may be an age-old question, but are our lives (and deathes) pre-determined by God, or is it based on the strength and faith of our prayers, thoughts and actions?? And accordingly, are the illnesses, conditions, and realities that we find ourselves in a result of our thoughts, actions and beliefs?...Or, again, is it pre-determined as God's will?
I often analyze both sides, I'm coming to believe more that we ourselves have a direct impact on what happens to us. God gives us free will. I believe that God wants for us long life, health, and abundance. But our actions and thoughts, subconcious/conscious and otherwise, weigh into that. (Even with my dear friend, Ms. Eleanor...though she did live what most consider a long life, while trying not to judge, I did know her well enough to finally come to terms with and see how the nature of her illness could have possibly set in...keeping her from the 100 yrs. that she was aiming for. And even with myself, I try to look at my inner and outer lifestyle to see what dis-eases I might be allowing to set in, to try to aim it towards good outcomes...along with my belief.)
Yet, I still struggle with so many "why's" in terms of the tragedies that happen in the world, esp. the terrible things that happen to the innocent and to children. I truly don't have the answers, and rely on understanding it better "by and by." But I do believe that things that happen in the world are in some way the result of the state of our "collective mind"...our spirit, or whatever we may choose to call it...which I believe creates growing states or forces of evil or good. And there are consequences to these forces.
I know that this is getting away from your original thought, but coming back to that, I do believe that we all have a great degree of input (consciously or subconscioulsy) regarding what happens to us, including illness and the manner or time of our passing on. (Though I still have unanswered questions.)
Otherwise, what would be the point of our praying for someone or ourselves if it's already predetermined when or how the end will be? Or if God's will has already been determined that this is the end? Then are we just spectators and the script is already written? (Just questions that are open for other considerations?)
Here's an excerpt from amazon.com from part of a review of a book called "Heal Your Body" by Louise Hay. It gives some thoughts regarding other considerations for healing or preventing illness. See what you think. Also, check out Louise Hay's website.
< Author Louise Hay is a teacher, lecturer, and founder of Hay House Publishing. She contends that disease is caused by mental thought patterns, especially patterns of criticism, anger, resentment, and guilt. Festering resentments eat away at the self and can ultimately lead to tumors and cancers. Anger turns into things that burn, boil, or infect the body. A pattern of criticism can turn into diseases like arthritis, and guilt seeks punishment and leads to pain. In this book, Ms. Hay outlines hundreds of diseases and conditions, alphabetically, and the mental patterns that are associated with them, including each vertebrae of the spine. She has discovered these patterns through many years of study, her own work with clients, and her lectures and workshops.>
I lean toward the 'pre-determined' side as suggested in Matt. 6:10 and the fact that "it is APPOINTED unto men, once to die...", Heb. 9:27.
But, I also beleive that while we are living within our appointed time, we have room to make determinations about the quality of our lives and how we wish to live. Also Louise Hays' theories, fail to explain cancer and other diseases that befall infants and children who have not had the time or capacity to develop hatreds, resentments, anger etc.
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