Comforting Thoughts

My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Far from my deliverance are the words of my groaning. My God, I cry by day, but You do not answer; And by night, but I have no rest.
~Psalms 22:1-2 (NASB)

Do you ever feel like God has an answer for everything? Today is the 17th day of the fasting for my church and for the last two weeks the Lord has been silent. The only message a few have received is "wait." It feels like we are wandering in the desert. The Promise Land is close enough, but we are not ready to enter it.

This morning I read that the oil in the Gulf is disappearing: Mighty oil-eating microbes help clean up the Gulf. There are several theories, like it is settling down on the ocean floor and will cause even greater damage there. However, I am inclined to believe the oil-eating microbes provided by our Wondrous Creature are doing what He created them to do. Isn't this amazing!

We are such an arrogant people to think we are in control of everything on the earth. Oil leaches into the ocean naturally in many places and never causes problems. Granted this one was gushing an unbelievable amount of oil, but certainly God provided what the earth needed to sustain itself even in our arrogance and carelessness. I find that very comforting.

Disasters will happen and we should have the desire to help people in their times of need, but the natural forces of the earth have their own remedies. God planned it that way. God planned it all. He made plans for each of us before we were born. I feel so wrapped up in His loving arms at this moment.

I am not really concerned about where my church will be worshiping in the future. The future of our church is the focus of our fasting, but while others are concerned about finances and numbers, I have been led to pray about each individual member. I have felt the Lord telling me that we must grow inwardly before we are ready to grow outwardly. Perhaps that is why He has become silent. He is giving us the time to seek Him and to grow more faithful even when we do not hear or feel Him.

As if it was in the Lord's plan, I got a bit behind in my daily reading of The Purpose Driven Life, but last night I read about how we are to persevere even when God seems to have pulled back from us, which really does not happen for He said He would never forsake us. David certainly felt forsaken many times and expressed his feeling openly to the Lord. Have you ever had a friend be that honest with you? It just makes you feel much closer to the person, doesn't it? I think God appreciates that honesty also. Perhaps we have not been spiritually reliant on and emotionally honest with God, so we must wait...wait not for His answer, but wait until we are ready.

My Lord, you know what is in the heart of each church member. Please let this be a time of preparing and humbling so that we are ready to receive and act on Your plans