#6: His works.

Psalm 40:5:
Many, O LORD my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.

John 21:25:
And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.

Though God is the God of order, HE cannot be measured or fully recorded. We serve an awesome God whose works we cannot even fully comprehend.

Email submission: I love the fact that God not only hears our prayers, but He also cares enough to answer them. And not only will He answer our individual prayers, but God has an uncanny way of using one answered prayer to the benefit and blessing of an abundance of other situations, as well. I don't believe that blessings exist in solitude. Instead, I believe that all blessings are somehow intertwined, overlapped, like nerve endings and synapses and impulses all lighting up in succession. The more we rejoice in each others' blessings, the more blessings we have to rejoice in. ~Michelle D.

Praise God!

#5: His peace.

In the story of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, we know Martha as one who was "cumbered about much serving." Beyond being consumed with housework, the Lord noted that Martha was "troubled about many things." In the absence of peace, Martha sought to think through the situation with her mortal mind and even accused Jesus, saying, "Lord, if though hadst been here, my brother had not died." It takes a great deal of trust to know that God has the situation under control and that there is a greater purpose in our trials. In contrast, Mary sat at the feet of God, trusting in the peace that goes beyond our understanding.

Email submission: And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7

Thinking on the right things - the good, the positive, the proper things - can be a daily struggle sometimes. When we allow His peace to move into our situation, we are given the opportunity to reform our thinking and our actions. All we need to do is ask and give him time to move. Now, that's AWESOME!

"It is well to think well. It is divine to act well." Horace Mann
- Jules

#4: How He knows our very thoughts.

Psalm 139: 1-4:

O lord, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether.


Email submission: when you pray and you tell God all about your situation, and sometimes you try to explain how you feel and can't get the words out right, then you think-wait. You KNOW EXACTLY how I feel ALREADY! You're God! Awesome! ~Michelle D.

#3: His creation.

Psalm 8:3-4: When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; what is man that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?

Everything around us is the handiwork and artistry of God himself.

Praise God!

#2: His divine healing.

If you are diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor, your life is in jeopardy. It IS life-threatening. You will not have long. Even if you are diagnosed with a benign brain tumor, as I was, there are inumerable complications that could occur after undergoing brain surgery to remove it. Many patients who have had a tumor in the EXACT PLACE I had mine come out of surgery with short-term memory loss, the inability to put thoughts into words, behavior changes, and paralysis. Many are never the same.

I am not saying that it was an easy road; I do not want to diminish the depth of healing that has taken place. There were many, many hopeless days when I was completely desperate. As recent as LAST WEEK, there was constant fear, doubt and anxiety and I walked through my days wondering when I would relapse and waiting for bad news again.

Then camp week came. On Tuesday night, I could not even go because I was having what felt an awful lot like absence seizures. When would they end? On Wednesday, I went to camp service nervous that the stimulation would cause my body to go into panic mode, as it so often had. And I was right-I had to leave during song service and returned once the preaching started. During the amazing service, Bro. Joel Urshan preached about how everything is about Jesus. One of the things he said was that he already provided healing-we have to live in HIM to receive it. I prayed earnestly and felt a change happen in my mind and in my body.

I felt "normal" for the first time in MONTHS. The fear and anxiety that had surrounded me was finally replaced with peace. THIS was the healing that my entire congregation had been praying for for so long. This was the healing that I was so desperate for.

The next day, I had an appointment in the morning with one of my doctors and she commented that if she didn't know me, she would NEVER KNOW that I had a brain tumor or surgery at all.

I went to the next two services without worrying that I wouldn't make it through. In fact, I could sing and jump and dance without fear of headaches or seizures or panic attacks.

PRAISE GOD!

#1: How he speaks to us.

Unable to come to services for a while during recovery, there were many days when I just felt discouraged and thought that my current circumstances would never end. Luckily, I could listen to services at home on the church's website. Prior to one service, I started searching for scriptures on healing and found one that really resonated with me. I copied it into my notebook so I could reference it whenever I needed to:

3 John 1:2-Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in heath, even as thy soul prospereth.

In that service, Pastor Wahler preached from NO OTHER than 3 John 1:2. I sat in my living room and wept in awe that the God of the universe cares so much about me that he brought this scripture to my attention and confirmed it in the preaching. He wanted me to know that it will be okay that that He wants me to prosper. HE wants ME to prosper.

Praise God!