Loving Father, we pray for those who care for us and for the more vulnerable in our communities. Grant that they be supported in all they do for us.”
““Look,” they told him, “you are now old, and your sons are not like you. Give us a king to judge us like all the other nations have.”[“
1 Samuel 8:5 NLT
One of the greatest challenges and a tremendous source of learning, as I accompanied Katey on her journey with MS, was that there are very few definitive answers. I had erroneously held the view that medical science was far more precise than in fact it was. I discovered when anyone enters a period where health issues are not ‘open and shut’, then with the best will in the world, no medic can provide a definitive answer.
Consequently, both patient and medic struggle. The patient wanting the reassurance that a treatment will bring improvement and solve a medical issue, the medic uncomfortable with their responsibility to deliver news that things can get worse as well as better. I felt like I was stepping onto a frozen pond where the thickness of the ice was forever uncertain. At any moment I might plunge into the icy waters below. Living with uncertainty is stressful and yet is a central part of learning to live on earth.
As the elders in Israel demand a king, tired of the uncertainties of the prophets with their their mixed motives and messages, they fail to recognise that they will not be guaranteed the certainty they crave.
News reports from around the globe reveal that we exercise little control over our day-to-day destiny. None of us has a handle on what tomorrow might bring. This is why Jesus encourages us to think in terms of today rather than tomorrow. All the planning in the world will not divert disaster if it chooses to come calling. God is no guarantee against human disappointment, pain or personal tragedy. God offers accompaniment through such experiences and the promise of a promised land the other side of the desert
QUESTION
Do you seek simple answers to complex questions?
PRAYER
Father, Son and Holy Spirit, may my heart desire your kingdom above my own, your will not my will, and your purpose in all things. Give me eyes to discern your kingdom way, and hands that work in collaboration with your Holy Spirit to build that kingdom here on the earth. I entrust myself to you once more this day.