September 2014
I locked the office door and turned toward my car. The movie theater, with its sea of windshields glittering under the lamp light, greeted me. I crumpled into the driver’s seat and massaged my neck, trying to release the lead ball suspended between my shoulders.
Ten minutes later, the smell of fries—hot from the wire basket—filled the car.
“Why does it take me three hours to do paperwork?” I mumbled, cramming a fry into my mouth.
My foot jammed against the gas pedal. “I only see patients for eight hours. It shouldn’t take that long.”
The skyscrapers, dotted with office lights, stretched taller and taller. Silence filled the car.
Have you considered asking me for help?
My hand, reaching to grab another fry from the paper bag, paused.
“Ask you for help? About paperwork?”
circa 871 BC
The prophet paused before lowering the bomb. Unfortunately for King Asa, that little incident with Syria had precipitated this visit.
Israel had threatened to invade, and everyone knew that the northern kingdom could trounce Judah. So, King Asa had sent silver and gold to Syria, to secure an ally. Why bother God with a solvable problem?
“Because you relied on the king of Syria,” the prophet said, “and did not rely on the Lord your God, the army of the king of Syria has escaped you. Were not the Ethiopians and the Libyans a huge army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet because you relied on the Lord, he gave them into your hand. For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him. You have done foolishly in this, for from now on you will have wars.” (2 Chron 16:7-9, italics added).
Apparently, God wanted to be asked.
Three years later, King Asa came down with a foot disease–maybe an oozing ulcer or pain that seared through his toes–and his doctors prescribed treatments to help. Why bother God with foot problems?
“Yet even in his disease he did not seek the Lord, but sought help from physicians” (16:12)
Apparently, God wanted to be asked.
*****
I don’t want to be like King Asa, missing out on God’s help. Too often at work, I limit my prayers to moments of panic or things I deem spiritual enough to pray about (e.g. love for my coworkers, patience with my patients, courage to talk about Jesus). But when I read King Asa’s story, I see a God who cares about the small things–foot problems and paperwork–because they reveal what we’re depending on.
Question: How have you experienced God’s support at work, in response to asking for his help?
Nice to see the second posting!
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This is such an important point. Thanks for the reminder.
Love your blog! Good to hear your thoughts again.
Some days when I pray and ask the Lord to give me more patience and love for my family, my work as a home schooling mom, He gives me that, and I rejoice and thank Him for the answer to my prayer. Other days I ask for the same things, and He gives me a kid with a poopy disaster, others who have no motivation for school work, and me and my spouse both tired and cranky with low blood sugars at the same time. It’s really hard for me at the time to see that day, that moment, as an answer to my prayer. But I know He uses those things to give me the opportunity to exercise my spiritual muscles and grow in those areas, to show me where I still can grow more, and to learn to rest in Him more.
I want to be more consistently conscious of Him walking by my side and His love all around me in all the details of the life He gives me. I feel like the key is in Ephesians 3:14-19: know how much God loves me, that I would be filled with all the fullness of God, the Holy Spirit, the spirit of love, and out of the overflow of this, I will love God and my neighbor. Easier said than done, right?! But I am thankful that He started that work in me, is doing the work in me, and will complete it–He promised!
Cathy, I appreciated your honesty that “it’s really hard for me at the time to see that day, that moment, as an answer to my prayer.” A lot of days feel like that and exercising the spiritual muscles isn’t usually easy!
Guess I have to type in my name to not be anonymous for the comments above. 🙂