Reflections on This Past Week: The Impact on My Faith

How my faith has changed in the last week:

Prayer heals. I think that D survived largely because of the prayers of everyone in the conference room when the surgeon was consulting with us. I’ve been keeping him and his family in my prayers since and all has been going fairly well. On Friday, I found out that he was upgraded from a 20% chance of surviving to more than an 80% chance. That’s definitely an improvement in odds.

As Christians, we know that death is our homecoming to Heaven. We know that putting our trust in Christ gives us the promise of eternal life. I saw some tears shed during Mary’s funeral, but it was *NOTHING* compared to the tears shed at non-Christian funerals I’ve attended. I have been hugged more in the last week than in the last 10 months — people have needed comfroting but it’s less intense than it could have easily been. After all, St. Paul writes:

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:31-35, 37-39)

Ministering to someone does not mean you know the exact words to say. If the Lord wants you to talk to someone, He will *give* you the words and frequently it’s what you *NOT* say that helps. Holding someone’s hand is just as meaningful as saying “it will be OK” and keeps you from looking like a fool when it is *NOT* OK. A hug can say more than words ever could. Praying confides that you are not doing this alone.

I really need to pray when I feel the urge to do so. Prayer has kept me sane this week. I’ve looked forward to getting to Sacred Space on my blogroll or reading the Our Daily Bread devotion for the day. My prayer time this week has kept me sane and I’m hoping that I can build better habits right now for my future. The urgings to prayer this week have also probably kept others sane as I know that the Lord works through our prayers for others.

I’ve figured out how to succinctly state the basis of my call to ordained ministry. Simply put, I love to tell the story. God’s promises are still amazing to me 8 years after the night I was led to faith in Jesus Christ and there is a hunger within me to tell people about them and to help people to work with them in their lives in all circumstances.

My deep appreciation for the words of the traditional hymns has increased. The hymns written a hundred or more years ago might not be as catchy or upbeat as today’s Vineyard music but many of them have much better lyrics and a better/more singable tune. I’ve extolled the virtues of “Abide With Me” enough in my journal this week; but I sing that nightly and hymns like “My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less” beat out “The Lord Is My Light” any day. “Amazing Grace” still makes me cry.

5 thoughts on “Reflections on This Past Week: The Impact on My Faith”

Sarah on June 23, 2003 at 09:07 said:

I’d never heard of “My Life Flows On” before you posted about it. I went to the cyberhymnal and downloaded the music, but I’m out of toner ink so I can’t print it out to play it on the piano. I hummed it, though, and I like the tune. It looks like it would be pretty as an offertory with a violin.

What are some of the others you know? We sang “Christ hath a garden” yesterday as our commissioning hymn and it is one of my favorites.
Chris A. on June 23, 2003 at 12:15 said:

Thank you for this, Jen, especially the bit about God giving you the right words to say (or not say) when ministering to someone in pain. I need to remember that so badly, so often.
Jake on June 23, 2003 at 22:09 said:

Prayer is amazing and does change things. I love being able to talk to God, not all religions can.
It is great to hear about your interview! I am praying for you Jen.
rick on June 24, 2003 at 10:24 said:

i like your last note, that the old hymns are meaningful again. i think that’s a very important part of growing in the faith, having everything break down and then having it built back up again on a more steady and sure foundation. i find more meaning in those old hymns than i did when they were commonplace and meaningless. i read the psalms and i’m wrenched by the emotion, not just skimming through the poetry to get to some prooftext point. when we reach a point where the old is made new, i think we’ve arrived at something worthwhile – at least as a new beginning for the next leg of the journey.
Tubbs. on June 25, 2003 at 19:35 said:

Isn’t it strange how we don’t pray when we feel like it? I really don’t get why I don’t do it more!