Promises Kept

Sometimes when I’m in the pickup, I’ll turn the radio to the BBN (Bible Broadcast Network) radio station in this area.  They often have a period of hymns or spiritual songs which I enjoy.  They also play recordings of various ministers, generally of the more conservative persuasion.  Some I enjoy listening to…others, not so much.

One of the more enjoyable ministers who is on the station regularly is Adrian Rogers.  Rogers was a minister for one of the largest mega-churches in the nation in the late 20^th century.  He passed away in 2005, but his sermons have been preserved, and are played regularly on the station.

One particular sermon I recently heard was on how God answers prayer.  I believe Rogers said there were three main ways God answers.  One is he grants the prayer request.  A second way is he says to wait…that it’s not the right time for an answer.  And third, God says “No.”

When Rogers talked about the third answer…the “No,” answer, he used a passage in the New Testament where Paul the apostle asked God several times to remove what the Bible calls a “thorn in the flesh.”  God tells Paul that he won’t do that…he won’t remove the thorn…and says to Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you.”

I’ve known of that part of scripture where Paul and God have a conversation about Paul’s disability, for a long, long time.  I’ve always concentrated my thoughts on what that “thorn in the flesh” might have been.  Most commentaries and scholars believe Paul had some kind of physical infirmity that he wanted God to heal.  I agree.  That seems to be the obvious thing.

But this time, when I heard Rogers speak about this story, something else came to mind.  I too have a “thorn in the flesh.”  It’s called arthritis.  It’s with me every waking hour of the day.  I take medication for it, exercise, and see a medical provider when necessary.  Some days, it’s hardly noticeable.  Other days, I am acutely aware of it.

God’s response to Paul may just be God’s response to me as I deal with not only the arthritis, but some of the other issues of aging.  “My grace is sufficient for you.”  Not only do I need to know that intellectually, but I also need to take that statement into a more heartfelt way.

And may I say I also need to take that statement into myself in a practical way as well.  God has graciously (that’s His grace working in me [”My grace is sufficient for you.”]) is providing medicines, therapies, and other ways to help mitigate the effects of the arthritis and other effects of aging.  God is not abandoning me.  He is not saying, “No, just endure it without relief.”  He is not healing me, but he is providing mitigating factors that I can take advantage of.

One other thing.  I have to wonder if God sometimes intends to allow life in the here and now to be less than comfortable.  I wonder if he does this so we will not be so enamored with this world that we long for it rather than longing for the new heavens and new earth that He has promised for those who have submitted their lives to Jesus Christ.  Because there are some days when it hurts that I think about a day when I’ll no longer feel that hurt, but will be able to truly enjoy life in a way I have never done before.

“My grace is sufficient for you.”  Not an empty sentence at all.  But God letting Paul know, and by extension all the rest of us, that He knows, He hears, He cares, and He asks us to long for the not yet…not so much the here and now.

That’s a hard pill to swallow.  The here and now is, well, so here and now.  It’s what we are experiencing at the moment.  The future seems so far off at times.  We are at our basic nature, creatures of the moment.  And God’s promises of relief and future happiness are sometimes lumped in with all of the other promises we’ve been given over the years by people…promises that are sometimes kept, and sometimes totally ignored.  We know that our track record with promises made to us is sometimes not very good.  Many are kept.  Some are not.  So why would we want to go all-in on God’s promises to us?

I have no magic answer to that.  What I do have is a record of His promises made to others…and in that same record the account of God keeping those promises...each and every one.

Joshua, in his final words to the nation of Israel following their taking of the promised land recounted God’s promises to the nation and then said this:  “Not one of all the Lord’s good promises to Israel failed; every one was fulfilled.”  There are dozens of places in the Bible which say essentially the same thing regarding God keeping his promises.  It is that kind of example that keeps me in hope that some day my shoulder will no longer ache, my back will no longer hurt, and my hands will work as intended.

God’s grace in all of this is in part, I believe, His promise of a better future.  His grace enables us to look at the big picture, and as Paul the apostle says, persevere through these, “Light momentary afflictions, which are preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.”  Paul was secure in hope.  May I be even half as secure in hope as the great apostle.

And, may God shed his grace upon you today.  Blessings.