Has God Forgotten You?

Are you going through something, and you think God has forgotten you? Are you dealing with a "sin" in your life, and you find no relief?Do you have a loved one that is going through something that you can't do anything about? Do you pray and think God is not listening to you? Read what Paul said about his infirmities.

And he [God] said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. [2 Corinthians:9-10]

Paul, as he said, had a "thorn in the flesh. Whatever the thorn was, he asked the Lord three times to remove it, and the Lord refused. The Lord heard him the first time and the second time and the third time. It was not that the Lord did not hear his prayers; it was that the answer of the Lord was no.

Sometimes you and I keep asking the Lord for something to which He has already answered no. If He doesn't give us what we ask for, we think He has not answered our prayer. I have noticed over the past few years, more often than not, that His answer to my prayers is no. And eventually I discover that His no was the best possible answer He could have given me.

He said to Paul, "My grace is sufficient for thee." He said He would not remove the thorn but that He would give Paul the grace to bear the thorn. That is the wonderful thing about it all. "My strength is made perfect in weakness." In other words, it was obvious in Paul's ministry that he was so physically weak that the Spirit of God was empowering him. "Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me." This was Paul's response to the Lord's answer. Paul would glory in his infirmities.

What happens when that infirmity puts us on our back, or we hear the dreaded words "cancer," and all of our strength is gone? What, than?

God is especially close to us when we are lying on a sickbed. Even in the midst of pain, when it seems we can't take anymore, God will make the bed soft and will freshen it with His presence and with His tender care. He makes the bed comfortable and wipes away our tears.

What happens when we watch a "loved one" going through sickness and we can''t do anything about it?

He ministers to us with special tenderness at such a time and reveals His great love for us.

Have you ever watch the gardener trims and prunes his rosebushes, sometimes cutting away productive branches? he done it so that the blooms will be the best that they could be!

Likewise, when God’s people are afflicted, His hand never slips. He never makes a mistake. His every move is for our own good and for our ultimate good. Oftentimes He must deform us and mutilate our own image. Deformity sometimes precedes conformity.

That is what Paul is saying here, "therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong [2Cor. 12:10].

The reason God says no is so we will "rest" on Him. if you could do it all by yourself, you wouldn't need God at all! Think about that today.

I remember my mother singing a song when I was a child, and even in the years that have past, it has been a "mainstay" in my life. Even when the days got dark in her life, she knew the "Master of the storm" and she taught her children that as well. She knew "no one ever cared for her like Jesus"

I would love to tell you what I think of Jesus, Since I found in Him a friend so strong and true; 

I would tell you how He changed my life completely, He did something that no other friend could do.
All my life was full of sin when Jesus found me, All my heart was full of misery and woe; Jesus placed His strong and loving arms about me, And He led me in the way I ought to go.
Ev'ry day He comes to me with new assurance, More and more I understand His words of love; 

But I'll never know just why He came to save me, Till some day I see His blessed face above.

No one ever cared for me like Jesus, There's no other friend so kind as He; No one else could take the sin and darkness from me, O how much He cared for me.

Rest in Him, for He cares for you.