God hears

Chocolate Beans

Posted on by Betsy

Today’s devotional is a follow up to the previous one where I discussed bringing my rusty French speaking skills out of the dull chambers of my high school mind and tried to communicate in France. Some of my attempts worked, but others … well, you be the judge.

We were in a small chocolatier watching a demonstration of how chocolate is made. Our local guide (the one who had encouraged my French) was giving us a talk on the history of chocolate, from the very first discovery of the cocoa bean to the present. The store owner had a large cocoa pod on the counter that contained beans. She described how the beans were used as currency due to their high value once certain foreign royal courts discovered the magic of “le pot du chocolat chaud,” or hot chocolate. When the cocoa beans were first introduced in France, however, the king rejected them because he thought they looked like “goat poo,” as the store owner delicately explained, and thus missed out on immense riches that others were able to snatch up as they rushed to procure the beans.

The missed opportunity and the reference to “goat poo” struck my high school brain hard and I said aloud, “Oh merde!” (Google it.) The three French ladies working behind the marble chocolate slab began to giggle and our local guide laughed and told me I was right. I probably shouldn’t have said that, but I was relieved that it made everyone laugh.

The writer of Ecclesiastes has something to say about this:

Ecclesiastes 5 (Common English Bible)

2 Don’t be quick with your mouth or say anything hastily before God, because God is in heaven, but you are on earth. Therefore, let your words be few.

Have you ever blurted out something only to instantly regret it? Have you ever spoken a word in anger that seemed rash a few hours later when you calmed down? Have you wished you hadn’t fired off an email in haste? We all have these moments. It is in those moments that we need to pause, breathe, and ask the Holy Spirit to come and duct tape our mouths for a few hours.

Solomon reminds us that God is always watching and listening. He advises that we should consider our words and minimize the impact they might have on a situation. Thoughtful repartee is what is needed in this world of mudslinging and name calling. Indeed, it is often better to just shut up.

May our words be a sweet as chocolate today, and may others be blessed by our consideration.

Chocolate Making

God Heard

Posted on by Betsy

Let’s talk about healing today. I find this can be a tricky subject for some. We see many acts of healing in the Bible done by Jesus in his lifetime and even done by the disciples in his name. The Old Testament contains healing stories as well, as God divinely intervenes in a situation to bring healing to a person or a nation. We are taught from early days to pray for healing, and in the book of James we are instructed to come together as a body of Christ to lay hands, anoint with oil, and ask for healing in the name of Jesus (James 5:14-15).

Televangelists have given healing services a bad name. In an effort to extort money from hopeful believers, they have scammed their viewers and falsely proclaimed that they have some mystical power to heal. I remember watching one such televangelist laying on top of a desk piled high with sealed envelopes (containing money along with the prayer requests) and proclaiming that everyone was healed. The only thing he could actually relieve them of was their dollars.

I have been blessed to participate in legitimate healing services in my church. Following our United Methodist Book of Worship, these services are grounded in Scripture and prayer. God’s intervention is sought as we remember together that only God has the power to heal, and we remember that God hears our every petition.

I think that is the key. God hears. He hears the sincere petitions of his people. He hears the unspoken desires of our hearts. He hears our faith as we gather at an altar to speak to him. He hears our needs as we present them before him. And he always answers.

Psalm 116 ( New International Version)

I love the Lord, for he heard my voice;
    he heard my cry for mercy.
2 Because he turned his ear to me,
    I will call on him as long as I live.

This beautiful psalm is a reminder that God hears. When we pray for healing and it doesn’t come, sometimes we accuse God of not listening or being absent. But that is not the case, and this is the tricky part of healing: God may give you an answer that you didn’t expect. The answer may even be “no.”.

When I was a very young and very naive young pastor with the ink still wet on my ordination papers, my church conducted a healing service. I remember it like it was yesterday. Many more people came than we had expected, and by the end of the night I was worn out. One of our church members, who had been absent for two years, was wheeled up by her family for the anointing of oil. She had cancer and had been suffering for months. We prayed over her and anointed her with the virgin olive oil someone had brought back from Israel.

She died the next day.

Confused and uncomfortable, I went to the senior pastor for comfort. I thought it was a failure of our efforts that someone had died within 24 hours of our service. He kindly and gently told me that she had indeed been healed, as her pain was now gone and her body was restored in heaven. He reminded me that ultimately we only find complete healing in death and resurrection. I realized then that she was the first person to receive healing from our service, and that understanding has undergirded my faith ever since.

Healing comes in the way God sees fit. It comes at his pleasure. It comes in his time. It comes in ways that are good for us, even when we can’t see it.

12 What shall I return to the Lord
    for all his goodness to me?

13 I will lift up the cup of salvation
    and call on the name of the Lord.
14 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord
    in the presence of all his people.

This psalm also reminds us that if you have received healing, you are invited to respond with fulfilling your vows, serving God, and offering your thanks. Of the ten lepers who were healed by Jesus, only one thought to come back and thank him (Luke 17: 11-19). Have you remembered to thank God for all of your blessings?

15 Precious in the sight of the Lord
    is the death of his faithful servants.
16 Truly I am your servant, Lord;
    I serve you just as my mother did;
    you have freed me from my chains.

17 I will sacrifice a thank offering to you
    and call on the name of the Lord.
18 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord
    in the presence of all his people,
19 in the courts of the house of the Lord—
    in your midst, Jerusalem.

Praise the Lord.

If you are struggling today, waiting for an answer that seems to not be coming, have faith. God heard you. God loves you. God responds in his time, so take heart! Your redeemer comes.

Path to Healing (by Fayette Piedmont hospital) by Kathy Schumacher