Turn it over to God...

    Sophie and her husband, Joe, desired a large family. However, she discovered she had stage four endometriosis, a disease in the uterus which causes cysts, scar tissue and infertility. She would have this disease her entire life. They were devastated. She had laparoscopic surgery to remove the cysts. This would help make pregnancy a possibility. The surgery was successful. Four months later, Sophie became pregnant and gave birth to a son. The entire pregnancy and process were uneventful.
    They attempted a second pregnancy but were faced with a series of miscarriages. When they returned to her doctor for an exam, they discovered that the endometriosis had returned and was worse than before. She now had cysts and a blocked fallopian tube which would make pregnancy impossible. She was disappointed. She went before God and gave the problem to Him. Her focus now shifted and her desire for God and what He wanted became greater than her desire for a large family.
    They planned to have in vitro fertilisation done. This would require the removal of her fallopian tubes thus preventing her from being able to become pregnant naturally. They requested prayer from friends and family.
At this time, a friend shared with her a dream she had had. In this dream both Sophie and her sister were pregnant at the same time. This dream gave Sophie hope and she felt that maybe the IVF would work the first time and she and her sister would indeed be pregnant together. 
    They went ahead and scheduled an appointment to have the procedure done. However, the night before, Sophie felt the urge to do a pregnancy test. She had had many failed tests and expected this one to be negative as well but she just wanted to rule out the possibility. She was shocked when the test was positive. 
    At the next ultrasound, the doctor reported that everything was okay and normal. The cysts were gone! Months later Sophie delivered a healthy baby girl.
    The main point of focus for me is the fact that, when met with intense disappointment a second time around, Sophie finally handed over the problem to God and chose to let His will become her own. She still wanted more children but chose to have a greater desire for God’s ultimate will and purpose for her life. I believe this is when the shift in her circumstances took place even though she did not know it at the time. 
    Just like Sophie, I believe that God wants us to desire Him more than our own desires. It isn’t that He doesn’t want to give us what we desire, but He doesn’t want our desire to become more important than our desire for Him; He doesn’t want our desires to become an idol in our lives and replace Him, the One true and living God. Sadly, without realising it, many times that does happen and we find ourselves frustrated when things don’t seem to be working out our way. Maybe what God is looking for is a shift in our focus. When He becomes our main desire and focus, when we can reach the point where if we don’t get what we want, we would still love Him anyway, we would still serve Him with all our heart anyway, I believe that is where our true victory will come. It is not about getting what we want as much as it is about being within His perfect plan, purpose and will for our lives. God will never give us anything less than His best. And, maybe, when we give God our greatest desires, He will give us in turn more than we could ever hope, dream or ask for. Sometimes we lose when we hold on but we gain when we let go, releasing it into God’s capable hands. 
    If you have not accepted Jesus Christ into your life as your personal Lord and Saviour, I encourage you to do so today. You will never lose when you give to God. He will always ensure that when you do, He will give His very best to you.

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