Cut the String

Romans 12:1 So brothers and sisters, since God has shown us great mercy, I beg you to offer your lives as a living sacrifice to him. Your offering must be only for God and pleasing to him. This is the spiritual way for you to worship 

Matthew 6:10 We pray that your kingdom will come. We pray that what you want will be done, here on earth as it is in heaven.

Many of you know that I’ve struggled with health issues, particularly with my esophagus over the last several years.  When my reflux and associated aspiration pneumonia became too much and something had to be done, I consulted by phone with a well-known surgeon in the ‘esophagus field’.  During our conversation, he said to me ‘Well, Mrs. Morgans, I’ve reviewed all of your scans, x-rays, medical records, and it is my opinion that we remove your esophagus’. 

There it was, a blunt, right to the point, unemotional, purely scientific, opinion.  That hit me like a ton of bricks to the point that I was speechless for a few minutes on the other end of the line.  When he said ‘are you there?’, I sort of was jolted back to the present conversation.  I merely said to him ‘those words flowed so easily off of your lips that there was no consideration of how they would be received by me.  You must say those words so frequently that they have no impact on you.’  He bumbled around with some sort of an apology and assurance that he did, in fact, understand how those words would be heard.  

Needless to say, that surgeon was immediately checked off of my list of individuals that would care for me. His clinical skills may have been impeccable, but I needed to have someone to care for me who was down to earth, cared for me as a person, and would treat me like he would want his wife or mother to be treated. I do have to say that he called me back and apologized for how he came across as insensitive and direct. We spoke as one healthcare professional to another, and he said that he realized he had to work on his approach in the future with patients. He, surprisingly, thanked me for my comments to him that made him more aware of his communication with others.

To make a long story short, I ultimately found the right human surgeon for me; and yes, I had the procedure that at one time bolted me over just hearing the words.  A couple of years later, I ended up having the procedure repeated in Boston by another human surgeon that cared about me.  He sat beside me, held my hand, and eyeball to eyeball explained that it needed to be done a different way, and everything that would have to be done.  That’s what I needed, a human person who spoke to me as an intelligent woman, and the confidence and assurance that was received by John and me during that visit was wonderful.  I went to the operating room, and while I was afraid, I was able to turn myself over to hands of the surgeon, as well as the Great Physician. I drifted off to sleep with the below image in my hands and the calm assurance that I had given myself completely over to the hands of the Great Physician and thy will be done.

‘Thy will be done’ is a phrase that we say almost by rote as we repeat the Lord’s Prayer.  The words fall over our lips without even thinking.  We’re not just resigning our petition to fate, but saying to God that His perfect purpose will be accomplished in whatever circumstance we are laying before Him.  

I’m feeling that this verse ‘thy will be done’ oftentimes is closely dependent upon another verse that has been appearing to me a lot lately.  Romans 12:1 instructs us ‘…to offer your lives as a living sacrifice to him. Your offering must be only for God and pleasing to him. This is the spiritual way for you to worship.’  

To offer ourselves as a living sacrifice to God. What does that even mean, and how do we do that? Bishop Peter Weaver, in his installation sermon to the New England Conference portrayed that in a visual way that I’ve never forgotten. As he was preaching to hundreds of people, he bent over and took off his shoes and socks. Still speaking, he put a collection basket on the floor and stepped into it. That visual made that verse come alive to me. Offer yourself, your whole self, your very being, your thoughts, your health, your plans, your children and family members, your job, your worries and concerns, your fears and things that keep you awake at night, your joys and celebrations, your financial situation, EVERY SINGLE THING is given to Him. Whew! A heavy load to hand over; but it is only then that we can say with truth and assurance ‘thy will be done’ with everything that I’ve handed over.

The image of a big helium balloon filled with all of me, including my worries and concerns, with a string hanging down is handed over to God is something that I visualize in my mind’s eye.  Sometimes, I’m temped to pull on the string a bit if I don’t see answers soon enough.  What about you?  Do you give it and then take it back because we feel that we can manage it better?  It isn’t being handled quite right? We don’t see anything happening?

CUT THE STRING! 

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After we step into that offering basket after giving Him all of us (including our family members, worries, world events, employment, financial situation, living issues) or surrendering all, we can truly say ‘thy will be done’ AFTER we cut the string!

Blessings, Candy

All to Jesus I Surrender: https://youtu.be/SW8EA7DEQ2M

Lord I Offer You My Life: https://youtu.be/37u6IBRDgm8