Let God Be God

Carl* had lots of questions. All week at camp he was asking questions of anyone who would listen. He talked to his counselor, me, our speaker; and they were sincere questions.

” What about pain? Dinosaurs? Wars? Aliens? Divorce? If God loves us, why does he let evil exist? How did we get evil and satan in the first place?”

A lot of the questions don’t have concise answers and many don’t have any answers at all! But the search; the quest makes reaching conclusions even more personal and rewarding. Carl wasn’t the only one with tough questions. They came from campers and staff alike.

We live in a broken world and the influence of secularism makes crossing the line of faith significant and life-altering. But isn’t that the way it should be?

Over and over again I found myself thinking and saying out loud: “Let God be God.”

Our finite minds can’t wrap around the thoughts and plans of an infinite God. Our warped understanding of love cannot grasp God’s perfect, unconditional love. Our sin-scarred emotions make taking faith-steps painful and difficult.

But when we let God be God He opens our eyes to see Him in new and wonderful ways; He softens our hard hearts to accept His forgiveness; He opens our ears to hear his words of grace; and He gives us the courage to unclench our fists and give Him control of our lives.

God worked the miracle of transformation in campers and staff and none of us who “let God be God” will be the same.

One of the personal transformations that I witnessed was in my wife, Lois. Everyday her strength seemed to increase and, although she rested often, she was able to attend the worship times and “hang out” at the office. Then, on Thursday evening, she spiked a fever. Friday morning I wondered what the day would be like. One of our staff noticed that Lois did not attend the staff prayer time in the morning and took a couple of other staff and campers and they went to our room and prayed for Lois.

Within an hour the fever broke and Lois felt much better! God is so good! Lois was even able to pack our personal luggage and load the car later that afternoon!

We are now recovering and working on follow-up and re-packing all the supplies for next year. Thanks for praying for and with us. We join with you in a new commitment to let God be God!

Heavenly Father, We ask You to fill us with Your Holy Spirit as we submit our bodies as living sacrifices. We commit ourselves to lives of obedience as we daily renew our minds in the living Word of God. Amen.

*Carl is not his real name!

3 thoughts on “Let God Be God”

  1. Jim and Lois~
    I just needed to let you know what an encouragement you are to me personally! It was great to see the two of you when you visited Flack the Sunday before camp. And Lois, your words of encouragement to me overwhelmed me, knowing what you are going through in your own life! I was thrilled to hear how well you did at camp. And I pray that God will continue to lift you both up and hold you close to Him as you travel on in this journey! Again, thank you for sharing and being an inspiration to all of us!

  2. Hi Mrs. Camper of the week!
    Good job lady, keep it up, that won’t be a problem with any of us. I trust camp went well.
    “We worship God through his Spirit, and our pride is in Christ Jesus. We do not put trust in ourselves or anything we can do…..” Phil 3:3
    Well, lady Camper get rested up and do your best to be a good girl. Oh, just a note, my brother in law was just told he has cancer….that will be kind of tough for him (As of course it is for everyone) Your friend in Christ, Pastor Phil

  3. The time is 3 am and I was woken up with an urgent need to pray for Lois. So I am. I don’t know why the urgency, but there must be some battle going on right now. So Lois, I pray for strength, pain relief, relief from the cold feeling, the numbness, and that taste in your mouth that never goes away that is sort of like metal but not quite (I had that so am guessing you do too). I pray for true rest. I pray for your body to continue to be a miracle of resistance to the really horrible side effects of chemo. And my spririt is praying for things I can’t put into words. Jim, I pray for you too. I know what my cancer did to Keith, and I can see some of that in your face when I see you–which I know hasn’t been very often. A good husband is worth just as much as that wife in Proverbs is. I know Lois treasures you.

    God be very near to you both right this minute.

    Love you.

    Linda

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