On the feet of deer
At church this morning, I was struggling to focus while standing and singing because my feet felt like they were on fire. I am a teacher. I stand on hard floors all day. I have plantars facilitis. I've prayed for it to be healed, have had other people pray, bought dr. schol's inserts, and expensive clogs. And they still hurt. It was worse this weekend for some reason and I have been fighting discouragement and fear of long term ramifications of it. Why God? Why do they still hurt? I am doing Your work. I know I am where you have called me.
We were singing a song called "God is Able". The song begins, "God is able. He will never fail. He is Almighty God." I stopped to think about God being able. I've been thinking through God's authority and power here on earth and why sometimes we can pray for healing and it happens and why sometimes we pray and it doesn't. I've looked at Jesus healing everytime someone asked Him and realized- yes, God indeed does desire to heal us- every time we ask. I believe he can heal me and others who have sicknesses around me. And yet- my feet still hurt.
I thought about Jesus this time. Did He get splinters from building things? After all, all carpenters must get splinters. Did His feet hurt after walking from city to city? Did He get a cold? Did He have a runny nose? Did He ever have a fever? He was hungry. We see evidence of that in Luke 4 after He spends 40 days in the wilderness being tempted by the devil. Jesus was fully God and fully man. I can't wrap my mind around that at all, but I know that in order to be fully man, His body had to function they way mine does. His feet must have been sore from walking all day. He must have had indigestion at times. Did He pray about these things? I can only imagine. He was confined to the flesh and the laws of our flesh and yet the Son of God, divine in nature, powerful and mighty all at. the. same. time.
I do know this- After they stripped him, whipped him, mocked him, and nailed him to a cross, they called out, "He saved others; He cannot save himself! Lete the Messiah, the King of Isreal, come down now from the cross, so that we may see and believe! [Mark 15: 31-32]"
Essentially they said, "If you say your are able, why do you not do anything about this?"
They didn't understand. God is able. He is always able. He let the pain happen because he had
something. greater. planned.
I don't understand. I don't see the big picture. I don't have answers. But I do know this. God is able.
Standing there at church, he brought to mind Habbakuk 3: 17-19:
"Though the fig tree does not bud
and there is no fruit on the vines,
though the olive crop fails,
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,
yet I will triumph in the Lord;
I will rejoice in the God of my salvation!
Yahweh my Lord is my strenght;
He makes my feet like those of a deer
and enables me to walk
on mountain heights."
He makes my feet like those a deer. In reading this article entitled Hooves make everything deer do possible, I have learned that deer can run up to 35 mph, leap up to 8 feet, that they rarely slip or fall, and that there hooves are simply incredibly impressive. He makes my feet like those of a deer. He en-ables me to walk on mountain heights. My journey is over the mountains. He is not removing the mountains. He is not changing my circumstances. He is making my feet like those a deer. My feet may not feel like that right now- but I am not concerned because maybe he has something different planned, something bigger.
Maybe making my feet like those of a deer means bringing me to my knees. Maybe it means making my faith my anchor. Maybe it means making my love larger. Maybe it means making my eyes look upon the glory of the cross. Maybe it means learning to walk over these mountians by faith and not by sight. Maybe it means seeing through Job's eyes. Job, a man in perfect integrity, was subjected to such physical pain and loss of everything he owned and yet he still praised God and without knowing it gave victory to God and spit in the face of the enemy. And God restored him double-fold.
I don't know it all. But this is I know- God is able. He makes my feet like those a deer.
We were singing a song called "God is Able". The song begins, "God is able. He will never fail. He is Almighty God." I stopped to think about God being able. I've been thinking through God's authority and power here on earth and why sometimes we can pray for healing and it happens and why sometimes we pray and it doesn't. I've looked at Jesus healing everytime someone asked Him and realized- yes, God indeed does desire to heal us- every time we ask. I believe he can heal me and others who have sicknesses around me. And yet- my feet still hurt.
I thought about Jesus this time. Did He get splinters from building things? After all, all carpenters must get splinters. Did His feet hurt after walking from city to city? Did He get a cold? Did He have a runny nose? Did He ever have a fever? He was hungry. We see evidence of that in Luke 4 after He spends 40 days in the wilderness being tempted by the devil. Jesus was fully God and fully man. I can't wrap my mind around that at all, but I know that in order to be fully man, His body had to function they way mine does. His feet must have been sore from walking all day. He must have had indigestion at times. Did He pray about these things? I can only imagine. He was confined to the flesh and the laws of our flesh and yet the Son of God, divine in nature, powerful and mighty all at. the. same. time.
I do know this- After they stripped him, whipped him, mocked him, and nailed him to a cross, they called out, "He saved others; He cannot save himself! Lete the Messiah, the King of Isreal, come down now from the cross, so that we may see and believe! [Mark 15: 31-32]"
Essentially they said, "If you say your are able, why do you not do anything about this?"
They didn't understand. God is able. He is always able. He let the pain happen because he had
something. greater. planned.
I don't understand. I don't see the big picture. I don't have answers. But I do know this. God is able.
Standing there at church, he brought to mind Habbakuk 3: 17-19:
"Though the fig tree does not bud
and there is no fruit on the vines,
though the olive crop fails,
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,
yet I will triumph in the Lord;
I will rejoice in the God of my salvation!
Yahweh my Lord is my strenght;
He makes my feet like those of a deer
and enables me to walk
on mountain heights."
He makes my feet like those a deer. In reading this article entitled Hooves make everything deer do possible, I have learned that deer can run up to 35 mph, leap up to 8 feet, that they rarely slip or fall, and that there hooves are simply incredibly impressive. He makes my feet like those of a deer. He en-ables me to walk on mountain heights. My journey is over the mountains. He is not removing the mountains. He is not changing my circumstances. He is making my feet like those a deer. My feet may not feel like that right now- but I am not concerned because maybe he has something different planned, something bigger.
Maybe making my feet like those of a deer means bringing me to my knees. Maybe it means making my faith my anchor. Maybe it means making my love larger. Maybe it means making my eyes look upon the glory of the cross. Maybe it means learning to walk over these mountians by faith and not by sight. Maybe it means seeing through Job's eyes. Job, a man in perfect integrity, was subjected to such physical pain and loss of everything he owned and yet he still praised God and without knowing it gave victory to God and spit in the face of the enemy. And God restored him double-fold.
I don't know it all. But this is I know- God is able. He makes my feet like those a deer.
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