You Don't Have to Live in an UnMagic Kingdom
Take Back your Wonderland from the UnMagic Kingdom
Hey friends. I hope you are enjoying this Wonderland Series. The last few blogs are based on the idea that often life's disappointments cause us to lose the wonder of who God is, and of who we are as a result. This week’s blog is about taking back our wonder from the UnMagic Kingdom. What is an UnMagic Kingdom? It's a place where we cease to believe God hears us, cares about us, answers our prayers or does miracles anymore. Why do we stop? Because it’s just to darn hard to figure our why He doesn’t do the things we ask if He really does hear us.
When I was in college, I spent my summers in Romania and Poland with a missions team that traveled from city to city sharing the gospel. There was lingering fear and despair in these countries from the affects of Communism, so God was especially interested in healing their hearts and even their bodies. For those in America reading this blog, it may be a stretch for you to believe me, but I saw people’s sight restored, a baby’s heart (which had a hole in it) healed completely without surgery, a student on our team healed of hives, and many other wonders.
As I saw these ailments cured, I wondered why God would not heal me of my allergies. They plagued me everyday in these areas because I am highly allergic to hay and mold. Everywhere I went, I had congestion and a runny nose which inevitably turned into chest infections. One day, I reached for my medicine when a leader challenged me to direct my faith toward my healing. I put the medicine aside and tried to trust God through my snot and sneezing.
I’d like to tell you I was cured, but instead I lay in bed irritated, frustrated, and angry with God. Why would He heal so many others and not me? Did I not have faith? Were my ailments not severe or important enough? Didn’t He see I was sick and tired of the perpetual bronchial infection? Didn’t He love me?
Thankfully my roommate’s dad was a doctor, so she dished out some well-needed antibiotics so I could recover a bit before we moved on to the next city. Lost in what I believed, she gave me some sound wisdom, “Sharie, go ahead and take the meds. Maybe God will heal you with them for now, or possibly He will heal you permanently. But being on them won’t stop Him from healing your body.” This helped me let go of my anger so I could trust Him again, and still marvel at the people who were receiving physical healing without resentment in my heart.
The only way to take back our wonder is to let go of our anger and expectations. The hard truth is, God’s thoughts are not our thoughts and His ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8). I know that God is a healer (Matt 10:7-8), but I also know that He does not always heal (2 Cor. 12:6-8). I cannot explain why He does or why he does not because I do not claim to know all of His why’s and how’s. If I worshipped a God I understood completely, He would not be worthy of worship.
I want to leave you with 2 things I do when I feel like I’m trading my Wonderland for the UnMagic Kingdom:
- I choose to trust when I don’t understand. If I don’t choose to trust, my unanswered questions rob me of my faith. Proverbs 3:4-6 says "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your path straight."
- I choose peace over results. It’s hard to come to grips with the fact that God’s answer is sometimes, “No” (like in 2 Corinthians 12:6-8). When He says no, we can either choose to pout or find peace. Phil 4:7 says "And let the peace of God guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."
Friends, I hope these two things will help bring back your wonder when you find yourself in the UnMagic Kingdom. I’m sure we’ve all been in the UnMagic Kingdom and wish we’d had someone to help bring back our wonder, so share this with a friend if you feel like they need it! Talk to you next week!
© 2016 by Sharie King. All rights reserved.
