Faith Like That

What a good song...
Try track two on their webpage (oh, and read about the band while you are there).
Jonah 33 Faith Like That

I Have Heard about the Days of old
About the men who followed You
And how they saw the Supernatural
And became the chosen few

So I come before You now
Tearing off my earthly crowns
for this one thing I have Found

I want Faith Like That
To see the dead rise
or to see You pass by
Oh I, I want Faith Like That
Whatever the cost
I'll suffer the loss, Oh I
I want Faith Like That

I'm not Looking for a miracle
Signs and Wonders are things thereof
I caught a glimps of what You want from me
and what I have is not enough

I read the story one more time
of Those who gave to You Their lives
With no fear or compromise

I want Faith Like That
To see the dead rise
or to see You pass by
Oh I, I want Faith Like That
Whatever the cost
I'll suffer the loss, Oh I
I want the Faith That can move any mountain
and send them to the sea
I want the Faith that can break every stronghold
That keeps you, keeps you from me

I want Faith Like That
To see the dead rise
or to see You pass by
Oh I, I want Faith Like That

I want Faith Like That
To see the dead rise
or to see You pass by
Oh I, I want Faith Like That
Whatever the cost
I'll suffer the loss, Oh I
I want Faith Like That, a Faith like that

I heard a sermon on facing our problems...

and it was really good. The guy (a pastor from Oregon) talked about the importance of doing that, of doing what we can against the problem (God doesn't ask to do more than we can), and then praising God for how He is going to take care of it. That got me thinking to no less than 3 situations in the past couple of years. All three seemed hopeless. But I decided to pray for God to work a miracle. And he did.

Situation number 1. The insurance I thought was going to go back in time and pick up old cancer bills wouldn't do that. So I was sitting on 15 grands worth of cancer bills. No job (this was a couple of years ago). No one knew of this outside of my immediate family. After I found out about it, I realized I didn't have the luxory to stress myself about it - I was in the heat of the battle for my health. So I did what I do when life seems overwhelming. I went for a walk and prayed. Out Loud. And as God always does, I see the creation He has made and it is a gentle reminder that He hasn't fallen off of His throne. He's still in charge. I just didn't see any possible way for it to work out. But after praying it through and realizing that He was in control, I just started praising Him that He was in charge of my financial situation. This was not easy. Worries constantly came up. But when a thought came I had to change the worry to a praise. Praise God that He will take care of it all. So how did the answer come? Some of it fast, some of it slow. The last bits of it are gone now. All 15 grand (or was it 14,500). In that first couple of months the vast majority of the medical companies just cancelled my bills after hearing my story. That's right four out of 6 bills were completly cancelled. The other two ended up accepting less than 50% of the cost of the bill. God blessed so my parents were able to offer 3000 dollars for me to have the last two eliminated.

Situation number 2. I am in the midst of chemo. As a result I am avoiding basically all public places because of germs. I feel half socially starved (I am an extreme extrovert) going into it because I haven't allowed myself to have friends in nearly three years (because I didn't have time for them because EVERYTHING revolved around health). And now the couple places I can go (church, Bible Study, etc.) I can't go to because they are a public place. But I prayed that God would somehow meet my need for socialization. Within 10 days, I had heard from quite a number of my closest friends (oddly enough from college, high school, a home school group, many different places) probably about 10 of them, and I really hadn't heard much of anything from any of them in a couple of years.

There are more situations. But that is enough for now. There is something beautiful in being in that place where everything is impossible but praising God for how it will work out, than watching how He works the miracle. Why does God so often answer prayers at our level of expectation? I don't know. But I have heard that preached many times, and that is what I have experienced.

I really should post something.

At least that's what I feel like I should do. I'm sure I have something good to say. Umm, let's see. I love deep gut level conversation. I do fine small talking but that's not what I love. I love a deep share everything type conversation. Maybe I am too much of an open book.

Let's see. I devoured Wild at Heart by John Eldredge. That is an extremely good book. So now I am back reading Boundaries again. There is a LOT of information in that book. I am just trying to absorb as much as I can from it.

We got that Mega Speedreading deal that was shown on tv sitting around our house (picked up a garage sale, I think?) so I'll see if that's any good. If that four hour program could really help me double the speed I read at, it would be priceless come return to college. I would actually be able to read all I'm supposed to.

So ummm, yeah. There's a lot more going on in my life than that. But I love posts about ideas. Maybe that's why I post about ideas rather than on where I went and who I did what with (like it seems every other person does). And maybe that's why I love deep conversations where people share and try to help people fix their situations. I really should go into counciling some day. That's something I love.

The choice

I am realizing I have a choice of how to approach relationships. I can approach them to see what I can get out of it. That is called selfishness. Or I can approach it and see how I can be the best friend possible to the other person. That is called love. As I go to God to get my needs met I can help others. And by giving love I get it returned to me. I should have learned this a LONG time ago.