Hello My Chickadees,
When humility meets faith, God’s response is, “I Will.” God is always present but sometimes it may seem like, or feel like, He’s not listening. No one can know the mind of God, but we can know the will of God. He makes it plain for us in His word, “I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11). But what if God’s plan does not fit our timetable? What if the manifestation of that plan is years down the road? Do we give up on God? Or do what Sarah did when she was ear hustling at her tent when three strangers (angels) told her husband Abraham that “this time next year Sarah will have a son” (Genesis 18:10), when she was well past childbearing years? In her humanness she thought they were crazy, and she laughed.
In our humanness we tend to judge by the appearance of things and rest in what seems to be reasonable, but God defies our logic. He tells us that His ways are not our ways; in fact, Paul tells us that His ways are past finding out (Romans 11:33-34). Although we may not know what God is going to do, or when He’s going to do it, but we certainly know what He’s able to do. He is able to do what humanly seems impossible to do, but that’s the nature of God. We serve a BIG God who can do big things. We like to place God in our neat little boxes and categories. Our nature is to control the process to reach a desired outcome. We want to put God in a formula that puts Him on par with a genie. I’ve heard it said that if we want to make God laugh, tell Him our plans. I get it. That’s the equivalent of the created thing telling the Creator what to do. God cannot, nor will not, be controlled. He cannot be manipulated but He can be reached. How do we reach Him; with a broken spirit and a contrite heart (Psalm 51:17). You might think that that doesn’t appear attractive; and to us it’s not, but to God He sees someone who is open and pliable. He sees someone who is humble and remorseful and realizes that without Him—we can do nothing. We have tried the world’s way and we concede that it doesn’t work. When we throw up our hands and open our hearts, God can step in and do what we in our own strength and perceived power, cannot. He is after all, Sovereign. He can do what He wants, when He wants, and how He wants. A contrite spirit and a broken heart allow Him access - all He needs is an invitation.
Maybe you have been praying about something which hasn’t materialized in the natural yet. Our task as believers is to trust that God is faithful to what He says He will do. Although we live forward, our understanding is hindsight. Our delay is not necessarily a denial. Often a confluence of some other things need to come together before the answer to our prayer is manifested. In the wait, allow God to work out the details as you remain steadfast, unmovable, and abiding in His word. Wait with the expectation of a revelation that in God’s time, we will reap a harvest in due season IF we faint not (Galatians 6:9).
Let’s not get weary in well-doing. Let’s not pout, and let us resist the temptation to get angry with God because it appears that He didn’t do what we thought He should have done. And your neighbor got the blessing you feel you should have gotten because you have been much more faithful than they have. You crossed all your ‘i’s and dotted all your ‘t’s and you are in the same place and space. In our humanness we all have that temptation, but shake that self-righteous attitude and remember that God is YOUR Daddy and He made you a promise. He promised not to deny you any good thing (Psalm 84:12).
Though the vision tarries, wait on it; it’s for an appointed time (Habakkuk 2:3), and nowhere does it say that it’s according to our timetable.
Let’s stop frustrating ourselves trying to figure God out, or trying to manipulate Him with our faulty logic of equating His response to our desires with His love for us. I can help you with that one - He loves us unconditionally, always, and whether we choose to love Him or not. His love covers us, keeps us, guides us, protects and directs us, reprimands us, and never leaves us in whatever we are going through.
Is there anything too hard for God? That’s an absolute NO. As Dora said in the movie Finding Nemo, “Keep swimming, keep swimming, keep swimming,” and expect the unexpected.
Peace and Blessings My Chickadees,
Gail
PS. Stay tuned, Good Morning My Chickadees is coming.
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