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Michael Fox CPCC, founder of m�agine!, is a professional coach and trainer, author and creative artist, whose work has been featured throughout the world.
Michael is a Certified Practitioner of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.�
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The apostle Paul assured his fellows in Corinth:
No trial has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tried beyond what you can bear. But when you are tried, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it
(1 Corinthians 10:13).
Of the trials "common to man" few are more disturbing than the desperate prayer of a dispirited believer presumed to have fallen upon deaf ears. The supplicant, praying either in anxious anticipation of or in the very midst of trial asks--perhaps begs--as Jesus implored, "May this cup be taken from me," or as Paul thrice pleaded, "Take away this thorn in the flesh." Yet heaven, at least from the perspective of the supplicant, is quiet, unyielding, unresponsive.
We may seek the counsel of a faithful friend who, more often than not, assures us, "God always answers our prayer; sometimes the answer is, "Yes," sometimes the answer is, "No." At best--though well intended--small consolation; at worst, a trite and misunderstood perspective of divine providence.
Consider...what is our desire, our expectation, of our heavenly Father when we bring our trials--our wants, our fears, our disappointments, our doubts--before him? Most likely we seek, and indeed are not satisfied by less than, deliverance: "May this cup be taken away from me...Take away this thorn in the flesh."
Perhaps peace will be discovered in reframing our expectations.
Return to Paul's assurance to the Corinthians, quoted at the beginning of this post. What's the divine assurance in trial? No less than either deliverance or endurance. Although our preference is deliverance: "Take it away!"; more often our prayer is answered with endurance, even as the Father assured Paul in reply to numerous pleas to take way his "thorn": "My grace is sufficient...my power is made perfect in weakness."
I had coffee and conversation this past week with a friend. He is a lovely man who values strength and has little tolerance for his own weakness. He respectfully, yet fully, expressed his own disappointments and doubts around the desperate prayer of trial. We talked at length about the shape of answered prayer. As our conversation drew near to a close, my friend's troubled countenance lifted with a knowing smile; a metaphor born of his experience lifting weights reframed his expectations around answered prayer. He declared, "God's a spotter." He explained:
A spotter stands watch as the lifter bears his burden of weight. The spotter is not present to assume the burden from the arms of the lifter, else the lifter's strength to bear his own burden will never grow. The spotter is fully present to encourage, to protect, to occasionally offer his open palms to take the edge off the lifter's burden. Only if the burden of weight threatens to overwhelm the lifter will the spotter assume the load.
God the Creator, the Father, the Redeemer...the Spotter.
Aha!
So what comes up for you around these learnings and your own experience of desperate prayer? Compare...contrast.
Where's the difficult, lonely place within you that might find hope with this knowing?
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Michael Fox
m�agine!
530/613.2774 P.O. Box 9144 Auburn, CA, USA 95604
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In addition to personal and professional coaching, m�agine! specializes in spiritual transformation coaching, employing its proprietary models --Values, Vision, Voice and Heart, Soul, Mind & Strength-- as well as Myers-Briggs Type Indicator� curriculum published by CPP, the People Development People.
Michael's books include Complete in Christ, Complete in Christ Spiritual Transformation Workbook, and Biblio�files.
Coaching fees are based upon a sliding scale. Contact us for details.
Limited scholarships are available for spiritual transformation coaching. On the flip side, if you are able, please inquire about opportunities to fund scholarships for those who cannot afford coaching fees.
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