"Welcome to my blog space. I believe that God has carefully placed gems in our paths to fill our days with joy. The challenge for us is to take the time to notice them. My desire is to share the gems in my life so that, hopefully, you will see the ones He's placed in yours. I hope what you read here will be worth your time and you'll want to return often." - Cathy

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Living in the Not Yet


Have you been praying for a specific request for what seems like forever and wonder if God is ever going to answer it? I have.

If God came to you, as He did to some in the Bible, asking, “What do you need,” do you know how you would respond?

I’ve been praying for my brother’s healing for over twenty years. He is disabled due to a degenerative disease of the spine complicated by a car wreck years ago. He’s had four neck vertebrae fused and has limited range of motion in his neck. He is in constant pain even with a pain medicine pump surgically inserted into his abdominal cavity with leads that run to his spine. The combination of medications it pumps out lessen the pain but don’t remove it. Some of the medicines have caused him to be diabetic and are now causing liver issues.

I’ve prayed for my sister’s salvation for decades.

I know God hears my prayers, and some prayers have been answered in miraculous ways. The truth is, God can answer our prayers by saying yes, no or not yet. That’s where I’m living with these two desires of my heart, in the not yet. God hasn’t chosen to heal them (physically for one and spiritually for the other), but He hasn’t said no either. So I’m living in the not yet.

There are others living here with me; several friends who are praying for their marriages, three women I know who are yearning to be totally healed from the effects of child sexual abuse, some who are trying to move on from failed marriages but the spouse is causing havoc in their new lives, and a couple of singles who are praying for the mate God has reserved for them.

What do we do while living here in the not yet?

1) We keep praying, just as fervently as ever, while we keep our eyes and ears tuned to God so we don’t miss even the tiny miracles He performs in answer to those prayers. Sometimes the answer requires multiple steps to get everything lined up for the big reveal.

2) We search ourselves to see if there is a lesson we need to learn along the way and try to discover what it is and learn it quickly so as not to prolong the answer.

3) We keep loving God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength because we know He loves us and is working out a perfect future that will be for our good and His glory.

4) We support each other knowing that living here is not easy and can drain us of our strength. It’s during those times that we take on the prayers of someone else so they can rest from the labor for a while and be refreshed for the battle. If we constantly pour out of ourselves and don’t take time to refill, we won’t be able to fight to the end.

Are you living here with us in the not yet? What is your heart’s desire? How can I help you in the battle?

Going out with joy today –

Cathy