2 Corinthians 3:17-18
"For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—Who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like Him as we are changed into His glorious image."
Isaiah 65:24
"I will answer them before they even call to me. While they are still talking about their needs, I will go ahead and answer their prayers!"
Galatians 3:27
"And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes."
[emphasis mine]
You know, in some ways, prayer is similar to weight loss. You often don't experience the goal immediately or in the way you imagined. And both require effort on our part and faith for a successful outcome. But the waiting, oh the waiting! It can sometimes be frustrating and impact our faith. This is true for me, even though I am generally a patient person with outrageous faith. For example, despite a lifetime of being very healthy, active and with decades spent playing tennis coupled with a love of exercise; like many, my weight fluctuated widely in different seasons of my life. And the older this Road Runner gets the more difficult it seems to release the pounds and recently I found myself mystified and upset about it. But the good news I sensed in these Scriptures and that the Holy Spirit reminded me of and what I'm reminding you of is that "Pounds follow inches" and "Breakthrough follows prayer".
In my post injury and milestone birthday season, it became clear that I would have to do something different, by continuing to do what I know. I know that I will have to continue to draw on God's Holy Spirit to help release what my body is holding by practicing wisely mindful nutritional intake, engaging in trusted [though modified] workouts and being accountable. The different is doing more frequent check ins with Father God to ensure that I am in His Will regarding my habits, my plans and my purpose rather than doing my youthful beast mode get-in-shape tactics. These newer frequent check ins don't mean I am in ultimate control or have the final say, simply that I am willing to do my part in the natural and partner with God as He does His part in the Spiritual [remember resting in God DOES NOT mean doing nothing BUT being free to do what Christ's sacrifice enables us to do]. All while remembering that God's Will shall prevail sovereignly in His way and in His timing but for my good and for His glory.
The fact is that most often we lose inches before we lose pounds. Our clothes feel looser, we have more energy and stamina but don't yet see the needle move. But the Truth is that Christians' bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. And losing inches first is great because we are more likely to retain lean muscle mass and maintain our new weight if pounds are released slowly over time. Again, pounds follow inches!!! We see the same principle with prayer. You may be in prayer for days, weeks or years for something and feel hopeless as if nothing is happening. I have been there! But really God is working in His sovereign timing. As He is working, metaphorical inches are being released--> "inches" like a toe moving during physical therapy, a smoother gait while walking or a wider range of motion in a tennis swing until finally metaphorical "pounds" are released and you are running down balls on the court in your tennis whites or golfing with your buddies on the greens. Now your faith is strengthened and fortified for the long term to believe for even greater things and you are looking more and more like your Father God.
You see our prayers release small inches until our continued prayers release the pounds of breakthrough, until eventually, we will have the shape of Christ and reflect God's glory in character and deed. And isn't that the Believer's ultimate goal? To be a reflection of our Creator in whose image we are made? Shaped by reflecting more love, joy, peace and impact while walking in grace, forgiveness and mercy. So, I keep casting the net of prayer so that my inches of prayer are followed by my pounds of breakthrough in whatever area of my life needs it.
The point is to never give up, but remember that God desires to first transform us from within by renewing our mind, regenerating our spirit and thereby leaving us radiating with joy because we gaze upon Him. Paul is reminding the Corinthians of this very thing in his second letter to them noted above; the absence of the Old Covenant veil equals personal access to God in the New Covenant. To borrow from the popular song "Way Maker", "Even when I don't see it, He's working, even when I don't feel it, He's working, He never stops, He never stops working."
So, keep praying, keep believing, keep standing in faith, that God will come through on His Word. After all He can't break His Word or change what His lips have said. Even if His answer looks different than the way we ask, think or expect we can trust that it will be good for us and within His Will. God sees and knows all of the big picture and is not obligated to tell us what He is doing, His timing or His way. In the mystery of His plans, we simply have to rest in that. He hears us! He hears me! He hears you! And He will answer. Now if you excuse me, I have a workout to finish and a new dress to buy.
Takeaways for you to remember:
#1. Keep casting the net of prayer and wait expectantly.
#2. Prayer changes things, even if nothing seems different; eventually it will.
#3. God hears our prayers and answers for our good, not necessarily our way.
Yours in Christ!
Dr. Quahana
Want to enjoy some of the Scriptures inspiring this entry? [NLT version unless otherwise noted.]
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