April 5, 2005
-
Am reading Mark 5:1-20
Jesus came over to the country of the Gadarenes. That sparked a memory and on research, Numbers 32:33 states that Moses gave to the children of Gad, the children of Reuben, and the half tribe of Manasseh the kingdom of Sihon, king of the Amorites and the Kingdom of Og king of Bashan.
These people did not want to cross the Jordan into the promised land, they wanted to stay where their children would be safe, they wanted to raise their herds. Moses told them they had to go and fight, but they could return to their cities after the Promised Land was acquired. They split themselves off from their people by refusing to cross the Jordan and live in the promised land and ultimately they must have intermingled with the native people for when Jesus crosses over to the country of the Gadarenes, these people were raising pigs (pigs??? that was forbidden by Jewish law).
Now what was sad is that the Gadarenes cared more about the lives of the pigs, than they did about the man healed from demon possession. (That sure seems to be the trend today as well).
In this passage were three prayers prayed to Jesus.
1. The demons prayed that Christ would not send them out of the contry. Jesus said yes, and the demons entered the pigs.
2. The Gadarenes asked Jesus to leave their area for Jesus was bad for the pig business. Jesus said yes, and left. He will not force himself on anyone who does not want Him.
3. The healed man requested that he travel with Jesus. Jesus said NO. He commissioned the man to tell his family and friends what the Lord did for him. Sometimes, no is a good answer. Jesus had a better plan for this man, and history will show that that area of the country had a good amount of believers, probably due to the testimony of this man.
I have to be honest, when God says NO, it is sometimes very tough for me to take. Sometimes the NO doesn’t make sense, frankly. I still struggle with why God said NO when I asked for His protection when I was a kid. I know that some of my testimony is good for others, but my flesh says at what cost? I also know that is a selfish attitude, given what Jesus sacrificed for me, but truthfully those thoughts are still there and being struggled with.
Sometimes NO is a loving answer. A very simple and pragmatic example is, my kids would eat candy breakfast, lunch, and dinner if I let them, but then they would not be receiving healthy food. So I limit their candy intake, or I limit their playtime so that they do homework. No is an answer they resent, and hopefully in retrospect they will see that it was a loving answer.
I struggle with the name it/claim it people too. I want things and do pray to God for things, but at the same time, I want God’s best for me. God might give me what I want, but is it His best for me? I think that I see in a rather limited perspective, and God has a much bigger picture. Who’s opinion should I trust? Yet I bristle at the NO’s as much as anyone else does.
I wish I could get it throug my thick skull that God has my best at heart, I still put God into the box that my parents taught me. I feel that God will do what He wants for Him, and that I don’t matter. I know this is not the truth, but it is a deep fear that I am still uprooting.
I wish, though, there were a few more yes’s to my prayers as a kid.
Heather
Comments (14)
Trust in the LOrd with all your heart and LEAN NOT ON YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING.
Heather thank you for your comments GOD sent his only son to earth to die for our sins and even now he seeks us out milady. Just being the best you can do and allow him to fill your heart my friend ohave surrended your soul to JESUS CHRIST their is no stopping ya , Mike
Me, too. Far too few Yes’es for my liking. I feel like I would be happier with more, but won’t see the truth of the matter until I arrive home. That is frustrating to me. I guess that is part of why it takes faith. But then my NOs have not been as painful as yours.
You made me smile today!!!!!!!!!!!!!! thank you!
I did…I was a good girl.
mawm
That was a very good illustration. I had never looked at that scene like that. Though I do often think of how the Gadarene man asked to be by Jesus’ side and Jesus said no, that He needed him to stay there. I always saw this in the light of calling. But in the light of answered prayer, it brings a whole new perspective. The Gadarene man literally asked “God” for His presence, but instead had to watch as “God” literally walked away. It may have been good for all, but that still had to be very hard for him to bear. Thankfully God is omnipresent, so though we may feel like He’s walking away and asking us to stay behind, He is truly always there with us.
I have found, particularly in the past trying few years, that God is outlandishly meticulous in His oversight of our circumstances. Not only in the “no”s when we want “yes,” but in the “yes”es when we want “no”s. His ability to redeem even awful, evil suffering, to “cash it in and get something good in return (anyone remember s&h green stamps or blue chip stamps?)” is astounding beyond measure. Much of the redeeming occurs in the life of the sufferer, as the sufferer begins to fathom Christ’s suffering, and begins to see that Christ actually volunteered, knowingly volunteered, for His bout with humanity. Much other redemption occurs in the lives of the witnesses of the sufferer. When others see us put our hope in God, not in the changing of our circumstances, they have rock-solid evidence that God is real. It is no accident that “always be prepared to give an answer to those who ask about the hope in you” is written in the context of unfair or evil suffering. It is the way that the reality of God can be made known to those around us.
Thanks Heather for your transparency.
Your post reminded me of this verse
“The Lord is a sun and a shield. He bestows favour and honour, NO GOOD THING does He with-hold from those whose walk is blameless” Psalm 84: 11
Very good post Heather! Yes Nos are hard to take indeed sometimes….
in re to comment on my site: I have Bloodwork every tuesday…..for my red and white cell count and my sed and CRP rates. They have to be watched closely with my diseases.
Then I have my treatments on Fridays………….normally.
TY for your concern and prayers …much appreciated…………..!
SOMEDAY GOD will take it all away…today they found some blood in my urine which is something now I have to deal with, so possible kidney infection..~ Always something with this.
Have a great day in the Lord……………………
Yes, that’s it exactly. That reminds me quite a bit of a sermon by C. H. Suprgeon about (of all things) “The Prayer of Jabez”, here is a link if you like.
(I know… me and my reading recommendations!
Whatever next?)
However, seeing you getting these kind of good things out of the Word is definitely a “yes” answer to several of my prayers!
Shalom,
Eric “Pass-the-aura”
Heather, my wife Amy and I would love to have you and your husband praying for our ministry. If you’d like to do so, please go to http://leskowski.ministryhome.org and sign up to receive our monthly newsletter via e-mail (or if you’d prefer, snail mail). Just let us know… (or send me an email at dennis.leskowski@uscm.org).
wonderful post, by the way. great insight on the Yes, Yes, and No.
I am no theologian, although that is really due to a lack of time. But did God say no to your protection when you were a child? Or did he say Yes to our free will so we would not be his puppets? Yes to free will equals some making the bad choices when it comes to choices, and others being the victems of those choices.
Just my thoughts…I know we both struggle with pain in our lives and are both just trying to do the best we can…
Love you…Marlene
Dear marlene, I think you are right about that, but in all honesty, I sure wish God were on my side, and he wasn’t then.
Right now I am hurting, and it seems that some just have hurt heaped upon hurt. Know you are in my thoughts and prayers. I sure can use prayer myself tonight.
Heather
The ‘no’ struck me. Gotta run with it… but thank you!!!!