The sofa did arrive on Thursday. It was comfortable and I was very happy and thankful. Perhaps because I had a good seat to relax and rest during the day, it turned out that I didn’t sleep so well on Thursday night and was rather restless. So I compared day 1 and day 2:
A. Wed (day 1): No sofa → miserable BUT a good night of sleep and rest
B. Thurs (day 2): Sofa → happy BUT sleepless and restless night
Physical comfort: The two days turned out to be about the same.
Emotional well-being: Wednesday daytime was difficult (disappointment, frustration and teary) while Thursday nighttime was difficult (anxious, edgy and 胡思亂想)
Spiritual well-being: On Wednesday I called on the Lord to help me cope when the sofa did not come; the Lord blessed me instead with a restful night of sleep and I was thankful. On Thursday I thanked the Lord for the sofa and enjoyed it during the day, then called on the Lord to help me when sleepless and edgy at night.
Sofa and no sofa – the two days turned out to be about the same. [Same quality of life.] Which one will you choose?? A or B? I would certainly choose B (with sofa) -- I paid for it and should be entitled to have it on the expected delivery date. Plus, it is my plan and intention to have it arrive on that set day after discharge from hospital. Certainly I want things to go according to my way and my will. When it does not, can I trust that the Lord’s grace is sufficient? Am I confident that His blessings can be just as good in Plan A or Plan B? You may want an additional choice C (Sofa + happy + a good night of sleep)! Well yes...but then we may not call on the Lord and seek Him.
The sofa is just an example. Even today I struggled about something (much more important than the sofa). There are so many things I want to be in control and have it worked out my way. Lord, help me trustfully surrender to Your sovereign will and experience Your grace in all the circumstances to come. You way is higher than ours.
Isa 55:8-9
8 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,"declares the Lord. 9 "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. NIV
How to sense God's presence and submit to his will?
ReplyDeleteI guess we need to take our whole life to learn/struggle. We are just 凡人。God gives us free will and we make our decisions based on the awareness of the two espects. Sometimes, I don't think we are able to identify which is which. It could be a mixture of our desire and His will. We are his children after all. He is gracious. It is good we want to be good, want to totally submit to his will, want to be holy. It takes us too much energy and time to mind so many things. Then, we may lose sight of what grace is meant to us. 孩子，你慢慢來。
I did pray to heavenly father to send u the sago asap. I am glad u got it. I will keep praying for u. I feel bad u may have more treatment. Hope you will get strength from the Lord.
ReplyDelete帖撒羅尼迦後書 2:16-17
ReplyDelete但願我們主耶穌基督, 和那愛我們, 開恩將永遠的安慰, 並美好的盼望, 賜給我們的父神, 安慰你們的心, 並且在一切善行善言上, 堅固你們.