At Hand

photo courtesy of whatsinthebible.com

I don’t know how many times I have read, said, or quoted Philippians 4:6.  “Do not be anxious about *anything*, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”   So what does that mean?  Well, very basically, it tells us to not worry, to pray, implore, plead, about everything with thanksgiving.

The other day I was reading this in the ESV of the Bible.  The end of verse 5 hit me like a sledge hammer.  I have always focused on verse six.  In the NIV, verse six starts with a capital letter.  Why is that important?

Well, in the ESV, the second part of verse five says, “The Lord is at hand;”…  Do you notice the semicolon?  Oh, how I love the semicolon! It is defined as:

“a punctuation mark (;) indicating a pause, typically between two main clauses, that is more pronounced than that indicated by a comma.”

The semicolon is a powerful little punctuation mark.  It means that the author could have chosen to end the sentence, but chose to continue.   It connects two main ideas. Why is that important in this context?  Because BOTH sides of the semicolon are equally important!  My friends, the Lord is at hand!

The term “at hand” means, “Nearby; physically within one's reach.”  ( Yes, I know my “word nerd” is showing; please bear with me.) Think about what that means in the context of this passage!  God is physically nearby; do not be anxious about anything!  Pray about everything, and be thankful. 

The Amplified Bible says it this way: “The Lord is near. ⁶ Do not be anxious or worried about anything, but in everything [every circumstance and situation] by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, continue to make your [specific] requests known to God.”

The Lord is near.  He is right. next. to. you.  I used to think, how can I seriously pray about everything WITH thanksgiving??  “Thank you, God, for this disease.  I am so thankful for Myasthenia Gravis!”  But do you know what?  I AM thankful.  I honestly wouldn’t change anything.

 

When you start doing things the Lord’s way, your life will change…for the better.  Not even for the better!  For the best!  God wants YOU to have your BEST life.  And there’s only one way to do that. (Sorry, Oprah.)  That is through the cleansing, powerful blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

My dear brothers and sisters…I know this life is not easy.  But God is at hand!  He is with you always!  We do NOT need to worry.  I know this is tough stuff.  I’ve been at it 47 years and still forget.  God has your best in mind.  Jeremiah 29:11 says that God has plans for us!  Plans for good, and not for harm.  So how can having an incurable disease be for my good?  I mean, seriously?

I’ll tell you.  This disease changed the course of my life.  Before MG, I was a career woman.  I had a great albeit stressful job, made incredible money for a 28 year old kid, and worked really hard.  I played hard too.  I was NOT living my best life.  Not by a longshot.  Along comes MG, and suddenly I’m 100% dependent upon the Lord for everything.  Every hour.  Every minute.  Every second.  Every breath.

When you truly don’t know if you’re going to live or die, your perspective changes greatly.  Suddenly I wasn’t so worried about how much money I made.  I was more concerned about the side effects of the medication I was taking.  I wasn’t so much worried about keeping my house spotless, I was more concerned about keeping my trach super clean so I didn’t get an infection that would kill me.

I’m telling you from 20 years with this disease:  God IS near.  He IS the only way to peace.  Verse 7 of Philippians 4: “ And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Isn’t that what we all want? Peace?  Peace that we can’t even understand.  So don’t worry.  Pray about everything.  Be thankful.

Because God is at hand.

Letter To God For My Friends

Dear Lord,

I have a favor to ask.  See, I have a lot of friends who are hurting right now.  I've got some friends who have emotional hurt and some with physical illness.  See, the thing is God, Your Word tells us that the thief (the devil) comes only to steal and kill and destroy.  I'm not Pentecostal, I'm not Baptist or Methodist or Church of God or Church of Christ or Wesleyan or Catholic.  I'm just a God-follower, and I read Your Word God.  And that's what it says. So I am rebuking that enemy.  That thief.  That killer.  That destroyer.  I rebuke him in the name of Jesus.  Don't let him hurt my friends any more God.

Peter wrote a letter to Christians in Rome and said, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.  Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you."  Well, that's what I'm asking for these people I love, Father.  I'm asking that you perfect and establish them.  That You strengthen them and settle them.  

There is so much suffering Jesus.  So much.  Babies are dying and people are killing each other and sickness is rampant.  We live in a broken, dying world, and bad things happen to good people every. single. day.  

But you tell us, God, that YOU came to give us life.  And to give us life to the fullest.  Not just any ol' life.  Life to the full.  Filled with abundance.

And so, Father God, in the name of Your Son Jesus, I ask that you would come to the aid of my friends that are emotionally or physically hurting right now.  I ask for Your healing touch on their bodies and minds, Lord.  Touch their hearts.  Let them know in an tangible way that You love them.

Thanks.  Thanks for this, and for all the other amazing things you are about to do in their lives.
In Jesus Name...
Amen.

Letter To God

Dear God,

I am not going to make it through this day without you. Yesterday was SUCH a long day with Doug home for a whole hour and a half. I'm just overwhelmed. There's too much to do. There's too much! I need encouragement today, Lord. I need help. You promise you'll never leave me or forsake me, that I'll never walk alone. I'm holding you to that, God.

Already this morning I had to deal with the possibility of not getting my vest. You know, the one that will shake my lungs and keep them clear. The lady called and everything seemed fine but then she called back and said I have to fill out these forms to file an appeal...and I haven't even gotten it yet!

I overslept. My bedroom is full of dog hair and dust. I have to go back upstairs to turn Jacob's music off, and vacuum....and the thought of climbing those stairs is overwhelming. Everything is overwhelming.

I was feeling so good, Lord, for which I am SO grateful. I know I'm on the right track...but then Doug works a 15 hour day and I have
bills to pay and
dogs to take care of and
appointments to make and
insurance to deal with and
medication to keep track of and
a house to maintain and
allergies to deal with and
a child that needs me and wants my attention and
meals to feed my child and
loved ones I'm concerned about and
other loved ones I'm so angry with and
Bible study and
homeschooling and
trying to take care of myself and
feeling so isolated and
exhausted and
worrying about tests coming up....

Oh Lord. Take my burdens today. There's just too much. Days like today overwhelm me. I need help, God. I need You, but I need someone with skin, too. Please give me the strength and peace of mind I need today and the rest of this week. It's going to be a long one.

Thanks.

Fighting ANOTHER Battle.

Oh.My.Gosh.

At least my life is never boring. I'm so glad I waited til now to write this though, because God has shown Himself so awesomely in this situation, that this post will be totally different now. Last night it would have been a bunch of whining and poor me. {I do NOT do pain well. I can handle A LOT...the MG, the trach issues, the weakness, but NOT severe pain}. Anyway.

Saturday night about midnight-1:00 AM I popped another rib out. On the left side, up higher this time. There really isn't a way to descibe the pain. Just try to imagine your rib sticking out of where it is supposed to be, and the inflamation and nerve pain associated with it. Ew. My precious sister Pam deals with chronic back pain every day. I do NOT know how she does it. And she has such a gracious, godly attitude. Talk about inspiration!

My wonderful chiropractor had told Doug and I a long time ago that he's the only "Giovanucci" in the phone book (in podunk Allegan), and that if we needed him on the weekend to call him. So I called him Sunday morning...the pain was unbearable. He met us at his shop and got the rib back in. Hurts like a *beep* but at least I could walk again. My dear friend Shawn took Jacob today so I can rest and not hurt myself more. I love you Shawn. You are truly a sister to me.

So, if you live anywhere near Allegan, MI, and you need a chiropractor, go to Riverfront Chiropractic, to Dr. Luciano Giovanucci (Dr. Lu). He is AWESOME.

Anywho....last night I was just bawling and feeling sorry for myself. I'm like, WHY?!?!?! I had ONE good day, and then this happens! It's like God has something against me. I was so sad and in so much pain. Little did I know that Shawn and a few other ladies were praying over me...a LOT. And this morning, although I woke up in pain, I have a MUCH better attitude. They prayed against discouragement, and wouldn't you know I do not feel discouraged at all today! Glory to God!

Then, Shawn just "happens" to read a page this morning in a book that I also "happen" to have, called Praying the Names of Jesus by Ann Spangler. The name of Jesus featured here is Immanuel...God with us. The author writes (on p. 26). "What does it mean that God is with us? Surely it doesn't mean our lives will be easy. It doesn't mean we will be insulated from failure or doubt or that God will take our side in every argument. But is DOES mean we will never have EVEN A SINGLE STRUGGLE ALONE. It means the Lord will never withhold the help we need to do His will. It means that ultimitely we will come out on top even if we feel we're living most our life on the bottom" (emphasis mine).

Spangler continues a bit later: "Take a moment today to stop imagining yourself surrounded by all your difficulties and instead begin to envision yourself AS YOU REALLY ARE-- surrounded by the presence of your faithful God. Invoke His name--Immanuel" (emphasis mine).

So I just thought well crap on you satan. You're NOT taking this victory I've had; this huge, amazing, God-sent miracle medicine that has literally changed my ability to breathe. Never forget, friends, that the battle we fight is NOT against flesh and blood. It's not about my rib. Yes, the devil knows that pain is my biggest weakness. Why does God allow it? I don't know. But I DO know that I will try my best to glorify Him through it all.

And say thank you, thank you, thank you, to my dear friends who lift me up in prayer; some are so close, some far away, some I've never even met. Some that are warriors who cover me in prayer. Thank you. You are making SUCH a difference in the way I live my life. I could not win this battle without you.