To God be the Glory

A good friend of mine frantically asked for prayers via FaceBook recently--something he NEVER thought he would have to do. In fact, he had gone on his annual two week holiday sabbatical from FaceBook about a week ago, so I was surprised to see him back online. Anyway, his dad had fallen, had bleeding on the brain, and the situation was dire. I have known Shaun for over 30 years; we served in the military together. Although he was quite the joker, he was no soft guy--he was a cop, in fact a cop who worked out in the missile field in the frigid North Dakota winters, and later did special ops and intel duties. Anyway, although I rarely see him, he remains one of my dearest friends from the military. Over the next 24 hours, he posted twice again, once with an update to say his dad was doing better, and then finally, the post below. Notice he is beside himself with thanks to all who prayed, but most of all, choked up over the grace and goodness of God. His first line, in all caps. says it all--GOD IS GREAT INDEED!!!!!! AMEN!!!!.

Also, recently, another friend of mine lost his best friend, Isaac Tinsely, age 30, to leukemia. This young man had his whole life in front of him...a fiance, a life he had already dedicated to bringing the lost to salvation in Jesus Christ. For over a year, friends, family, and people who had never met him prayed for him. There were fundraisers, a campaign "10sley Strong," printed on bracelets and t-shirts and posters throughout our small town in western North Carolina. He beat leukemia once, but it came back with a vengeance. His family and friends and his church were sure he would be healed. We all prayed and prayed. He had a stroke, but inexplicably started to come back from seemingly insurmountable odds. However, after two weeks of struggling to breathe on his own, to fight the cancer that had taken over his entire body, he took his final breath, and went to be at home with his Lord and Savior. This young man's friends and family, as heartbroken and shattered as they are, are all over FaceBook giving glory to God, sharing photos and memories of Isaac. His fiance wrote one of the most poignant, beautiful things I have ever read:

"Tonight my heart is selfishly shattered into a million peaces. My soulmate went to be with the Lord. He is no longer suffering or in pain. I am thankful I was able to hold him as he passed over. The last thing he got to hear was my voice telling him how much I love him. I would not change this year for anything. Isaac and I grew so close and experienced things together most people never do. A piece of my heart is forever gone but I have comfort knowing he's with the Lord."

Two situations. Same prayers. To the same God. Both prayers answered, but to our human eye and human (selfish) hearts, one answer seems like yes, the other seems like a "no." We want all our prayers to be answered like Shaun's prayers. Or do we?

God, in his infinite wisdom, created the universe. He planned out our lives before we were even born. He has numbered our days, our heartbeats, our very breaths. Everything that happens, EVERYTHING, happens to glorify the Creator, not the created. He planned it all. Before a tear drop even falls, it must go through His Hand first. In that I find comfort.

Yes, I am ecstatic for Shaun that his father is on the mend and can spend more time with his family. And I ache and mourn for Isaac's family and friends and Havyn, for the loss of that precious young man. We could drive ourselves crazy with "what ifs" and "if onlys" and wonder about how we would feel if the situations were reversed. But our God is not a capricious God. He doesn't play roulette, or flip a coin. Everything works together for His glory. His word says so.  

God's will is inscrutable, His ways are not our ways. His thoughts are not our thoughts. When I create a universe out of nothing, and breathe life into dust, maybe then I will feel qualified to question His wisdom. Until then, I am so glad God is in control.