It was a busy weekday morning as usual, Karen was up an
hour earlier than everyone else so she could meditate, exercise and start
breakfast. She woke the children up and
went on to the next task. She called for
little Jessi so she could comb her hair, but there was no response. Realizing five minutes later that Jessi still
had not responded, she called out to her again, but with a little irritation in
her voice, muttering under her breath “if that girl is still in bed, she’ll be
sorry. We just discussed this yesterday”. The children know that if mom has to come and
get you, it is not going to be pretty.
Karen placed the bacon in the oven, took the grits off the burner,
placed the top over the pot, wiped her hands and went marching up the
stairs. When she got to Jessi’s room,
she stood silently outside the door listening for movement but couldn’t hear
any. She put her ear closer to the door
and heard muffled laughter. Her first
thought was to burst into the room, but instead she decided to open the door
quietly, and to her surprise, her husband was in the room with Jessi. He had just finished combing her hair. Perception is not always reality.
Taylor woke up in the middle of the night short of
breath. He tried to speak but couldn’t
because it felt like an elephant was sitting on his chest. His wife, Sami, woke up to see him putting
his sweats on in the dark. While turning
the light on she asked him what he was doing but when his eyes met hers she saw
panic. His usual calm demeanor was
screaming for help though no sound left his mouth. She was dressed and they were out the door
within 47 seconds headed to the hospital.
To their disbelief, the ER was empty.
She re-counted the events to the nurse and they quickly took Taylor to a
room. Sami prayed while they assessed
him. A few hours later the doctor said
it was a bad case of heart burn. That
didn’t make sense to Sami and it didn’t feel right especially when she learned
they didn’t run an EKG on Taylor. She
didn’t get irate, but she insisted that they run an EKG. When the doctor returned with the results,
Taylor started to experience extreme discomfort and he had a heart attack right
on the table in front of the red-faced doctor.
Sami’s refusal to leave and insistence that they run tests saved her
husband’s life.
We can all identify with misdiagnosed moments at one
point in our lives or another, some of them as innocent as Karen’s husband
surprising her by combing his daughter’s hair to the devastation of being
medically misdiagnosed. Those moments of
uncertainty can cause us to react in ways that can be courageous or make us
look like absolute basket cases. But
what do you do when you are faced with a misdiagnosed moment:
You know God has more for you, because he revealed to
you, but nothing seems to be working in your favor. The more you pray the worse it “appears” to
get. The trials seem to come one on top
of another like a woman when she is in the last stages of labor whose
contractions are so close together there is no relief. God, where are you? I can’t breathe; I can’t take “this”; I’m
drowning. But the Lord gently whispers
down in your spirit:
For I know the thoughts that I think toward
you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of
evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11 (NKJV)
Paula spent her last $500 to get her car
repaired for the fifth time in five months.
She drove off the lot and some idiot in a commercial truck runs a light;
hits her broadside completely totaling the car.
Strangers run to her rescue while other rubber necks literally stop
their vehicles in disbelief as they see her emerge from the car: no scratches, cuts or broken bones. Some think she’s having a nervous breakdown
because she is crying uncontrollably and shouting at her father, but she was
the only one in the car. “FATHER, THANK
YOU FOR SAVING ME”; FATHER THANK YOU FOR PROTECTING ME”; “HALLELUJAH”;
“BLESS
YOU FATHER”; “THANK YOU FATHER”.
I will bless the Lord
at all times; His praise shall continually be
in my mouth. (Psalm 34:1)
The insurance company arranges for a
rental while they sort things out. Seven
days later Paula is shopping for a brand new car that she can pay for in full,
pay off ALL her debt, take a much needed vacation with her family, tithe five
figures and not miss a beat.
But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order
to bring it about as it is this
day, to save many people alive. Genesis
50:20 (NKJV)
Maceo graduated from the school of the
arts. He got called to shoot a few small
rolls which led to a big part in a movie, playing the role of a stereotypical
Latino brother compromise his values and he respectfully declines. His friends criticize him but he is trusting
God regardless of what anyone thinks. He
has exhausted his savings and takes a job at local Starbucks. Though it’s not what he wants, every day he
leaves for work, he declares that God is placing the right people in his life with
the power, influence and ability to help him.
A customer arrives that he has never seen before (which is not
unusual). He stops his cell phone
conversation just long enough to rudely bark out his unique coffee drink: skinny
this, extra shot of that, with extra whip at 165 degrees, double cupped with a
sleeve and a straw. Maceo has an intoxicating
smile which is infectious. He rings the
gentlemen up who finally makes eye contact with Maceo and he is quickly infected
by that big broad smile which is oddly soothing. Maceo greets the next customer, a familiar face,
who asks about his acting, etc. The rude
“skinny” customer quickly ends his phone conversation and ear hustles. Turns out this guy is a screen writer on
assignment to find a replacement for the guy they just fired. He quickly tells Maceo about the role in a
film they are about to shoot. They both
click, exchange information and agree to meet later that day to discuss
details. Ultimately Maceo auditions for the part under the anointing and it’s a
wrap.
And we know that all things work together
for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28 (NKJV)
We are so quick to take life experiences at face value
which very often cause us to misdiagnose moments that have been set up, planned
out and orchestrated by God. I would
like to call them “God-Moments”.
We are faith walkers (For we walk by faith, not by sight 1
Corinthians 5:7) on the Journey that will lead to our destiny. God won’t give us all of the details up
front. He will only give you information
on a need to know basis, and that’s real talk right there. So try this:
relax, when it feels like you are
getting overwhelmed, take a step back, breathe and ask God for direction. When He leads you, just follow and walk it
out...
In His Humble Excellence
Tan
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