Tag Archives: Acts 17:25

Do you have all you want?

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C.S. Lewis observes in his book, The Problem Of Pain:
“We find God an interruption. As St Augustine says, ‘God wants to give us something, but cannot, because our hands are full — there’s nowhere for Him to put it.’ Or as a friend of mine said, ‘We regard God as an airman regards his parachute; it’s there for emergencies but he hopes he’ll never have to use it.’ ”

 

Do you have that feeling that your ‘hands are full’ and ‘busy’ is more a description of who you are than what you do? When pain and sorrow comes to live with you having “all you want” takes on new meaning, doesn’t it? No one cares about a new car or a cute house in times of deepest trouble. Suffering has a way of grabbing our attention and focusing our goals on what is truly important.
Lewis observes the role of pain and sorrow in getting our attention:

“If the first and lowest operation of pain shatters the illusion that all is well, the second shatters the illusion that what we have is our own and enough for us. Everyone has noticed how hard it is to turn our thoughts to God when everything is going well with us. We ‘have all we want’ is a terrible saying when ‘all’ does not include God. Now God, who has made us, knows what we are and that our happiness lies in Him. Yet we will not seek it in Him as long as he leaves us any other resort where it can even plausibly be looked for. While what we call ‘our own life’ remains agreeable we will not surrender it to Him. What then can God do in our interests but make ‘our own life’ less agreeable to us, and take away the plausible source of false happiness?”

 

Do you have all you want? I remember the wife of a former Maytag executive commenting how life was more fulfilling and exciting when they were less wealthy and striving to make ends meet. If all we want doesn’t include God it will never be enough. It’s like having an emergency parachute but not the ability to truly catch your breath and find peace.

 

Job 33:4
“The Spirit of God has made me, And the breath of the Almighty gives me life.”

 

Acts 17:25
“…nor is (God) served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things;”

 

 

The Secret of Living Forever

I think it was Steven Covey who told the story of the man who climbed a Tibetan mountain in order to ask a wise sage, “What is the secret to living forever?” The (reputably) wise man replied, “Keep breathing.” Well yes, that might be helpful if we could actually DO that, but of course, it is quite beyond our control.

I was reminded today of how fragile is life and how we all are dependent on God for our very next breath. Paul speaks of Jesus when writing, “And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.” Acts 17:25

Concentrated breathing can be a form of meditation and worship. Breathe out your concerns and natural self; breathe in the freshness and restoration that is God.

I was also reminded of the dangers of transfusions and the vulnerability that Leukemia presents. Just minutes into starting platelet infusion I developed a severe allergic reaction: Itching and hives quickly appeared all over my body. My throat started hurting and to close up, along with my nasal passages. Lips swelled and became numb. Breathing became so difficult that the thought of an emergency tracheotomy strongly came to my mind. (And to add to the pain, I couldn’t contact Marcia because she was in Newton and her cellphone had just died!)

My nurse was present through all this and knew to immediately disconnect the platelets and commence emergency response protocol. Ultimately I had four nurses working on the situation including one from the Emergency Response Team. If my body hadn’t responded, I would have been minutes away from being transferred to ICU…Or elsewhere. However with 75mg of Benadryl, oxygen, and a steroid, an hour later my allergic symptoms started to reduce. Four hours later, I was almost fully recovered. Just a little swelling at the back of my throat remains. Tomorrow, I will make another attempt to get some needed platelets, and maybe blood.

Wow, life can turn VERY quickly…in either direction. This could have happened to any of us through toxic reaction food, medicine, environment, chemical, etc. It is a reminder that:

Life is fragile. Handle it with care AND prayer.

Oh, the real secret to LIVING FOREVER?

“Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.” John 5:24