Amen.
Hi people. This prayer (though modified a bit - or a lot- by me), i coined from an amazing novel by Francine Rivers - "Sure as the Dawn". It's the third book in the Lion Trilogy series (that i love so very much)^_^. I feel this version strikes home better…for many of us ladies in waiting - or me at least. ;) The original prayer’s at the end of the post though…
Anyway, a bit of the story’s background is that there’s this lady, Rizpah, a widowed believer in the gospel who'd even been somewhat mentored by apostle John (the setting's way back in the period of the early Church, following the death and resurrection of Christ) who gets stuck with Atretes, a 'heathen' German, ex-gladiator who's got temper issues and rightful paternal claims to a child she adopted with the belief his parents didn't want him anymore. Now the story's plenty (i suggest you just read the book) but one out of the thousands of things that really struck a chord in me from the novel was this prayer. See they had been together awhile and there was no doubt that Atretes had the hots for Rizpah and, to be honest, vice versa. Yet in as much as it was the struggle of a lifetime, Rizpah hung on to Jesus and integrity and purity as onto dear life. She didn't try to make excuses for the weakness she felt in her flesh (Atretes was quite a hunk) nor blame God for bringing such a temptation her way and deciding that giving into her lust would be His fault and not hers. She loved him quite alright (though she fought hard against it initially) but was achingly aware of the fact that she, a daughter of the Kingdom, could not allow herself to be unequally yoked to one still lost in darkness and she trusted God to bring a man after his own heart out of the brutal gladiator.
Or maybe just bring her another sort of man altogether.
See too many times we ladies fall into the deception of thinking we can convert a person or change them. It's a hoax. Same goes for the brothers. We can't change anyone any more than we can redeem ourselves! Rizpah knew that. Most importantly (even to her), she knew that Atretes' soul was heavily at stake and her duty as a believer was primarily to God, not her feelings. The guy had suffered a great deal and had a million and one issues; his disdain for the almighty being the greatest, and despite her growing attraction to him and in disregard of her wants or feelings, she put the need for his salvation above all that. She understood fully that him getting to fall in love with his maker was tons more profitable than him falling in love with her (although it was something she desired). Her reaction at every point in time was with God's will and pleasure at the fore front of her mind and i think that's quite a lesson for many of us.
Sometimes it gets so lonely that some are filled with such desperate longing that they're willing to ignore God's will and pleasure, forget his promises and plans for them, all in the hopes of landing a great guy. But we need to remember that a 'great guy' is included in "ALL the good and PERFECT gifts" which come from the Father in whom there's no shadow of turning nor variableness. Finding (or being found by), the ‘ultimate’ mortal dream man can be lovely and should be a thing of joy, but when we neglect to rely on God to orchestrate these findings and refuse to follow his blueprint for a wonderful and fulfilled life, that’s when things get messed up. It’s not about getting fed up with how hard it is or wallowing in self-pity and frustration; it’s about trusting in the one who knows the end from the beginning and the one who’s given you the grace and ability to overcome every temptation that wanders your way.
I found it really beautiful that she subjected the desires of her flesh, her longings, her passions and needs even, to the will of God, knowing that whether or not she got the guy in the end, the most important thing was the guy getting God and her staying in obedience.
Go Rizpah! :) and Happy New Month ladies.
The original prayer: “Lord, may it be your word that is carved upon my heart, your love that I crave. Open my mind and heart to drink the word Theophilus gives me each morning. Strengthen me for your purpose. Cast out the ‘if onlys’ and ‘what ifs’ that plague me when Atretes looks at me. I remember what it felt like to be loved by a man. Sometimes I hunger for that kind of loving again. Help me to see him through your eyes, Lord, and not through the eyes of a fleshly woman. Redeem him, Father. Bring him up out of the pit and set his feet upon the Rock.”
P.s: Get the book(s) A.S.A.P. @ >>> http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/95602.Mark_of_the_Lion_Trilogy
xxx, Kwiksie.
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