~ written by Connie Dunmyer
A man fell off a cliff but managed to grab a branch.
Hanging hundreds of feet above the rocks, he cried out, "Is anyone up there?"
A Voice answered, "I am here. Let go of the branch and trust Me."
The man thought for a moment and shouted, "Is anyone else up there?"
Two frogs fell into a bucket of cream.
One looked around and said, "There's no way out. We're doomed."
He gave up and sank.
The other kept kicking and kicking.
Eventually the cream turned to butter, and he hopped out.
A drought had devastated a farming community.
The townspeople gathered for a special prayer meeting asking God for rain.
Hundreds showed up.
But . . . . only one little girl brought an umbrella.
Which parable describes me? My faith. Am I “faithful” only until it becomes necessary to “have faith”? Or am I a frog, simply giving up too quickly, thinking God has let me down? Perhaps I’m the townspeople, ready to pray, ready to whine, but not too ready to believe.
Oh, how I want to be the little girl! Oh, how I want to be Abraham!
I’d like to pick up where we left off last week in “Back to the Core”. I think there’s more “wheat” to harvest for my sometimes fickle heart.
16 Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring — not only to those who are of the law but also to those who have the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. 17 As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.” He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed — the God who gives life to the dead AND calls things that are not as though they were. 18 Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 19 Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead — since he was about a hundred years old — and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. 20 Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21 being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. 22 This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.” 23 The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, 24 but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness — for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. 25 He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.
Back in February, I wrote about the “difficult news” about my eye requiring surgery, and that “the vision lost in my left eye was probably gone forever”. The reason for this prognosis was that the hole in my macula had gone through enough layers to the point of actually removing many of the visual receptors needed for seeing. Not just clearly but seeing at all. My odds of any improvement at all was about 10%.
In fact, with every eye appointment before surgery, the news never sounded good. I cannot explain it, but I never really panicked – which is my normal go-to. I kept thinking that God had a plan – with or without eyesight. And then I came to this verse – which has been directly from God on multiple occasions of my life. But on this day it became a Promise!
Romans 4:17 “…the God who gives life to the dead AND
calls things that are not as though they were.”
Now obviously that can and does refer to Creation. But I think it also refers to my life, and the events in my life, and even my loss of visual receptors. God called me into being. He called me into Life. But beyond that… in that moment, and even now, He is calling things into being that do not yet “exist”. Time and space are not His master. He is Master. And, forgive my bad grammar, but even if something IS NOT… God can make it “IS”.
I was reminded of the Valley of Dry Bones in Ezekiel 37. Many times, when my mind would drift to the many “what ifs”, I would repeat verse 3: “He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.”
Or to personalize it: “He asked me, “Connie, can your eye see again?” And I said “Oh Sovereign Lord, You alone know.”
Romans 4:18-19 "Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead…"
Against all hope. I suppose mine wasn’t against ALL hope. I did have a 10% chance. But Abraham – and the little girl with the umbrella – both “without weakening in (their) faith” faced the facts, and decided God’s word was good enough.
This is not a wish. This is not a pipedream. Abraham was under no illusions about his body. He knew how old he was. But his faith did not weaken. Like the little girl, Abraham carried around his proverbial umbrella, just waiting for the day God produced the miracle in his life.
Romans 4:21 "being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised."
The first time this passage became personal to me was back in January of 1993. We were homeless, living in someone else’s house. All our possessions were in storage some 8 states away. We were at the mercy of strangers loaning or giving us things. We were hit by a hurricane in nature. And we were hit by a hurricane of sin in the pulpit at a church we were attending. Hope seemed far away, even futile. But ultimately, oh yes ultimately, God had His way and performed miracles beyond our wildest imaginations… even to this day.
Does God hear my prayers?
Does God care about my eyes?
Yes He does!
My results were amazing. My surgeon said my healing should be written in the medical journals. And on my final visit, he showed me how my visual receptors were growing. And not just a little bit. The white area in the central part of my eye, did not exist. It was black. It was gone. But my Father has called those things that were not, as though they were. And so they are.
My vision is not perfect – YET! Maybe it never will be. My “Sovereign Lord alone knows.” And maybe it’s good for me to always have a little reminder of what God did. And what He is doing. And what He is calling out. IN me. FOR me.
This past year has been very difficult for a myriad of reasons. And yet, more peaceful. For I know that God is Sovereign, Strong, Loving & Good. My trust level has deepened and grown in ways I cannot calculate. And if it all goes away tomorrow because He says so – it’s okay. It really is. As long as I have this deepened relationship, this peace that passes all understanding – then I can truly say Praise God from Whom all blessings flow…. and POUR!
So grab that umbrella!
This song from CeCe is longer than normal, but I encourage you to listen to it and bathe in the presence of the Holy Spirit... the One who loves us, hears us, answers us, encourages us, leads us, comforts us, giving us breath for each new day. I also encourage you to think of a need in your life - big or small - and physically or emotionally lift it to Him and believe Him when He says "I've got this!"
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