Searching For The Burning Bush
"What does God want me to do?" she raised her hand in frustration. "I want to go but God does not seem to want me to!"
I've been with people who wholeheartedly believed that God healed them having seen all the "signs" and indeed obtained physical healing.
I have also been with people who similarly believed they've been cured and felt disappointed or betrayed by God when their disease recurred or progressed.
How do we know if the direction came from God and not merely the concoction of the human mind and ego?
It seemed easier in the olden days when God communicated directly to man. With Moses, God revealed himself as a BURNING BUSH and made His instructions concrete by leaving stone tablets with the Ten Commandments engraved on them.
God's will...His directions, cannot be made clearer than that!
But nowadays, how does God talk to us?
"WHAT DOES GOD WANT ME TO DO?", her question reverberated in my mind.
If God will only tell her in a clear voice what He wants from her, certainly, she'd DO exactly as instructed, and BELIEVE exactly what she was told. Most of us will too.
If God wants to give us instructions, He'll surely speak to us in a language we can understand.
When a person is built with the mind as the dominating force, will she understand if emotions are used to convey instructions?
To make a logical person believe, she must NOT find any logical explanation for what is happening! A voice in a BURNING BUSH for Moses ... a blinding bright light for St Paul...open wounds for St Thomas, and probably for her, her random readings consistently bearing the same message.
I myself needed to believe she was going to get well. I needed to believe that God still speaks to us NOW as clearly as He did with Moses. I needed to believe, that when we sincerely seek out His will in complete abandonment and full acceptance, we'll find it . . . told to us in a "language" we can clearly understand.
"Let's hold on to your readings Ma'am," I said. Her language is her thoughts. Words must be her "burning bush".
In the succeeding days, she became less and less dependent on oxygen and finally, is able to breath without it. People who see her are amazed by her recovery.
Medically, the odds of her getting better were against her BUT she understood HIS instructions, held on to this with the tenacity of a complete believer, and God came through for her.
She is the modern day living testament of God's goodness and miraculous power.But more than anything else, she is MY BURNING BUSH!
Her lungs have been affected by her breast cancer and she can barely finish a sentence without being seized by her cough. Dependent on oxygen for almost two months now, she has been confined to her bed with her books to keep her company.
She was looking for answers to all the questions plaguing her mind.
A brilliant lawyer, author of two books, respected not only for her intelligence but also for her irreproachable work ethics. To me, she is the epitome of a successful career woman.
I was briefed at the onset by her family that all decisions pertaining to her treatment will come from her. At this stage when her disease has taken control over her physical body, her mind was what she has left... her remaining iota of control.
When the option of chemotherapy was laid out to her, she asked if this was going to cure her.
She was looking for answers to all the questions plaguing her mind.
A brilliant lawyer, author of two books, respected not only for her intelligence but also for her irreproachable work ethics. To me, she is the epitome of a successful career woman.
I was briefed at the onset by her family that all decisions pertaining to her treatment will come from her. At this stage when her disease has taken control over her physical body, her mind was what she has left... her remaining iota of control.
When the option of chemotherapy was laid out to her, she asked if this was going to cure her.
"It will not Ma'am but hopefully it will give you more good days. "
I narrated to her the possible side effects of the treatment including the possibility of being confined in between treatments in case complications occur.
"How can my days be better if I have to be in the hospital?" she asked."I do not even know what a "good day" is anymore..."
In a different circumstance, a "good" day might be one when things happen as expected and wanted, but relegated in a situation when even the act of breathing demanded so much effort, a "good" day may simply be one when air can still be summoned into the lungs.
She asked her aide to help move her to the side of her bed. On the food tray were several books and judging from the appearance of the pages, she must have read all these, likely more than once.
"All my readings point out to healing." A feeble smile crossed her face as she slowly pointed out to me highlighted passages promising health and redemption from the Bible and her other books.
"What does God really want me to do? I KNOW I am going to die. I WANT to die. I am PREPARED to die. But God tells me in my readings that I will not!"
She asked her aide to help move her to the side of her bed. On the food tray were several books and judging from the appearance of the pages, she must have read all these, likely more than once.
"All my readings point out to healing." A feeble smile crossed her face as she slowly pointed out to me highlighted passages promising health and redemption from the Bible and her other books.
"What does God really want me to do? I KNOW I am going to die. I WANT to die. I am PREPARED to die. But God tells me in my readings that I will not!"
A friend of mine once asked me, "When your patients tell you that they are going to get healed by their prayers, do you believe?"
I have also been with people who similarly believed they've been cured and felt disappointed or betrayed by God when their disease recurred or progressed.
How do we know if the direction came from God and not merely the concoction of the human mind and ego?
It seemed easier in the olden days when God communicated directly to man. With Moses, God revealed himself as a BURNING BUSH and made His instructions concrete by leaving stone tablets with the Ten Commandments engraved on them.
God's will...His directions, cannot be made clearer than that!
But nowadays, how does God talk to us?
"WHAT DOES GOD WANT ME TO DO?", her question reverberated in my mind.
If God will only tell her in a clear voice what He wants from her, certainly, she'd DO exactly as instructed, and BELIEVE exactly what she was told. Most of us will too.
If God wants to give us instructions, He'll surely speak to us in a language we can understand.
When a person is built with the mind as the dominating force, will she understand if emotions are used to convey instructions?
To make a logical person believe, she must NOT find any logical explanation for what is happening! A voice in a BURNING BUSH for Moses ... a blinding bright light for St Paul...open wounds for St Thomas, and probably for her, her random readings consistently bearing the same message.
I myself needed to believe she was going to get well. I needed to believe that God still speaks to us NOW as clearly as He did with Moses. I needed to believe, that when we sincerely seek out His will in complete abandonment and full acceptance, we'll find it . . . told to us in a "language" we can clearly understand.
"Let's hold on to your readings Ma'am," I said. Her language is her thoughts. Words must be her "burning bush".
In the succeeding days, she became less and less dependent on oxygen and finally, is able to breath without it. People who see her are amazed by her recovery.
Medically, the odds of her getting better were against her BUT she understood HIS instructions, held on to this with the tenacity of a complete believer, and God came through for her.
She is the modern day living testament of God's goodness and miraculous power.But more than anything else, she is MY BURNING BUSH!
Comments
in the book "Crossing the Threshold of Hope", Pope John Paul was asked this question: "Why doesn't God reveal Himself more clearly? Why doesn't He give everyone more tangible and
accessible proof of His existence? Why does His mysterious strategy
seem to be that of playing hide-and-seek with His creatures? Wouldn't it be simpler if His existence were evident?"
for the Pope's answer, kindly read the text (If God Exists, why is He hiding?) by using this link: http://www.excerptsofinri.com/printable/crossing_the_threshold_ofhope-popejpii.pdf
The LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.”
Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”