God's own, perfect way...

    I recently listened to the testimony of Dr Ming Wang, a world-renowned laser eye surgeon. As a poor Chinese immigrant, he migrated to America where he studied at various schools. During his studies, he became a Christian. He later began the Wang Vision Institute and established a foundation to restore sight to orphans around the world.             
​    During this time, he met Kajal, a little Indian girl, whose stepmother had poured acid into her eyes. He prayerfully performed the surgery to restore her sight but was sorely disappointed when the surgery failed. It shook his faith in God. He questioned why God would allow such a terrible thing to happen in the first place and even if He did, why would He not allow her to be healed. He battled with discouragement for months and did not feel able to continue helping orphan children. He felt God did not care to answer their prayer.
    That year during his annual fundraising event, Kajal and her host families were special guests. He overheard  an interesting comment made by one of the boys who had spent some time with Kajal during the course of that year. The boy turned to his father and told him that it was okay, he did not need an iPod anymore. At that point, Dr Wang realised the influence of Kajal on that boy’s life and on the life of the other American children around her. He realised that in spite of her suffering, Kajal had chosen to move on. She had chosen to still experience joy and happiness and to live her life as best she could in spite of what life had sent her way. He paralleled that to our relationship with God. The strength of our faith is not about immediately getting what we want when we ask God for something. Rather it’s about still having faith and confidence in God even when He doesn’t seem to give us what we ask for and about trusting that He will answer but in His time and in His way. 
    As much as I love sharing testimonies about God’s miraculous healing and deliverance, I love how real this one is. It reminds me of the reality that God will always give us what He knows is best for us. I am reminded of the stories of Jairus (Luke 8:40-42, 49-56) and Martha and Mary (John 11:1-16, 38-44). Both suffered the death of their loved one. Jesus chose not to heal either Jairus’s daughter or Lazarus, Martha and Mary’s brother, before they died. He could have but He did not. Instead, He got to them after their death and performed a greater miracle in their death than He could have done when they were alive and sick. God always has a bigger picture and plan! In both those cases, He still performed a miracle - He brought them back to life. It wasn’t what the families had asked for but He did answer their cry in His own way and in His own time.
    But, what about those prayers that seem to go unanswered. We pray, we stand on God’s Word, we trust and yet nothing seems to be happening. What then? I believe God still answers. But I also believe He wants us to be able to determine which is more important to us - getting what we want or HIM? Sometimes, I think that what we want becomes so much more important to us than God Himself, that that thing becomes God to us. 
    Will you still trust God even when you don’t get what you want? Will you still serve Him even if things don’t work out the way you would like? One thing I do know is that God has a perfect and beautiful plan for each of us. When He tells us: “I know the plans I have for you…plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11), that means that He will always desire to give us far more than we could hope or ask for. But, we have to be willing to let go sometimes of our will and of our desire and trust that He has heard us, He is working on it and He will do what He knows is best. Can you trust Him enough to allow Him to give you His best for you?
    If you have not accepted Jesus Christ into your life as your personal Lord and Saviour I invite you to do so today. God will never give you less than His best for you. He will never ignore your cries or your requests but will always work out His good plan and purpose for you in His own way and in His own time. Just trust Him!

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