God's Eyes

A month ago my husband began experiencing a terrible illness.  You can read about it on Gamma Susie's This n That blog. Just click on the link on this blog.  Going through this with him has done several things for me.

1.  It has shown me how to put into practice the kindness that I wrote about earlier in this blog.  God was preparing me for this time when He knew I would need ultimate patience with my husband who was suffering so much and needed me to understand and be helpful. This wasn't easy as one day he was fine and the next day totally helpless and dependent on me.  It wasn't easy for him either because he wants to be in control of his surroundings and now he had no control.  Frustration set in.  But God was also working on him and he realized that he also needed to trust God and not himself to get through this.  He prayed for a change of heart and kindness also.  Together we are able to get through it.

2.  God opened my eyes to the suffering around me.  A member in our church was having a mastectomy. She had been suffering from cancer for awhile now and I didn't realize the extend of her suffering until she asked about Don.  After I told her I asked how she was doing and she told me.  My heart ached for her and I began to really pray for her.  I hadn't done that before.

When I drove Don to the hospital in Denver and got him situated I went out to the car which was parked by the ER entrance.  Two women sat on the bench out front. One was on the phone and the other was panic stricken.  She was sobbing and asked, "Does this mean he is going to die?" The other woman nodded.  A shriek of despair accompanied with the words, "Oh God!" were uttered.  My heart broke for her and I prayed for her as I walked to my car.  I wouldn't have done that before either.  I would have just kept walking worried about my own situation.

Up on the hospital wing where Don was I noticed in several rooms patients with no hair, some vomiting, others laying quietly hooked up to their IV poles which delivered the "treatment" for cancer.  I realized there was so much suffering on this wing.  This is where they put the patients that were "seriously" ill.  Though Don was suffering they were suffering too and some much more.  Their outcomes were not as good as Dons.  I prayed for them.

God was opening my eyes and giving me the tender heart I asked for.  He helped me realize that He is the Good Shepherd and I am His eyes.  I need to open them for Him and pray and talk with Him about it.  I heard that scientific studies have been done regarding the healing of those who are ill.  Those who were prayed for whether they knew it or not healed faster then those who were not prayed for.  Got reminded me of this study and gently nudged me to pray for these dear children of His.

The Apostle Paul prayed for others.  His prayer in Ephesians 1:15-19 is a beautiful prayer and I encourage you to read it.  But if you don't know what to pray for tell it to God.  Romans 8:26 says, "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express." So I don't have to worry.  God knows my heart and gives me the will to at least pray for others.  His Spirit will help me with the rest. 

I pray for you as you read this that your heart will be touched to pray for me and for others.  Pray that God opens your eyes and helps you look through them to see the suffering around you.  Then ask for the desire and will to pray for those who are in need.

Kindness

I wrote on facebook a question for the readers to ponder.  "Kindness.  What does it mean to you?"  There was a variety of responses.  All good, but dealing with something we do.  And yes, we do acts of kindness.  But are those acts of kindness done because we choose to do them at certain times?  Is there a motive behind them that is selfish based?

I would like to put it to you to consider kindness as a condition of the heart. In Ephesians 4:32 Paul tells us to "Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you." In my acceptance of God's forgiveness towards me I want my heart to become changed, like His.  He leads me to an understanding of what He wants me to be, not just do. 

Ezekiel 11:19 states what God will do for me.  "Then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh, so that they may walk in My statutes and keep My judgments and do them; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God."


Once God has given me my new heart I will be able to do His will and bear the fruit of the new heart possessed by the Spirit of God that is "love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control." (Galatians 5:22,23) Because of this condition of my new heart I can fulfill the law (statutes and judgment ), "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.  This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like it; You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

I don't want kindness to simply be something I do.  I want it to be a condition of my heart so that when people encounter me they see God's natural kindness in my heart that "God may be glorified."