"Call to me and I will answer you." Jeremiah 33:3
An outright promise. Short, precise and so straight forward, it literally beckons us to obedience. Here we have a call to action on our part, followed by the promise of a guaranteed response from God. Eager to have our requests answered, we lay our petitions out before Him. But what happens when our prayer requests, sometimes submitted in pain and tears, are met with SILENCE?!!! We might get upset, maybe even angry with God, thinking He is not to be trusted because He does not keep His promises. And then to add insult to the injury, the enemy starts to taunt us. "Maybe God's promises are not for you." "He doesn't care about you." And as he plants these lies and seeds of doubt in our heart, a million more questions cascade through our mind. Does God not know how much I need Him? Where is He? Is God mad at me? Suddenly, God's promises seem out of reach and fear creeps in, leaving us feeling discouraged, defeated and abandoned. "God keeps His promises." Deutoronomy 7:9 Guess what friends, be encouraged. God never goes back on His promises and absolutely nothing is impossible with Him. We can easily mistake God's silence for rejection or even "No", when in fact it is only a pause in the process. Here is what I believe we do...... LISTEN.....to the voice of the Holy Spirit. Living in a microwave world we expect answers to our prayers before we even get off our knees. In our haste to have our desires and requests fulfilled, we may fail to realize God is more interested in changing us than He is in changing our circumstance. Is there a heart condition that requires attention? Are we prepared for the answer we are asking for? "Search me, O God, and know my heart...see if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way." Psalm 139: 23-24 HAVE FAITH Not only do we need to believe in God's ability to meet our need but also trust in His timing. No matter what our situation is, know that He is more than able. Choose to believe when every fibre of your being says otherwise. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding." Proverbs 3: 5-6 REST....in His Sovereignty Surrender to His perfect will and choose to give complete control to God. He is so much bigger than anything you or I could go through. We should have great hope and encouragement in knowing that the God of the universe is in complete control of our individual lives. "Be still and know that I am God." Psalm 46:10 CONTINUE TO PRAY We may be tempted to quit praying, or stop expecting an answer especially when waiting can extend into months even years. Prayer keeps us connected to God. "Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;" Colossians 4:2 I don't know many people who likes to wait. Grocery stores created express check-out for customers with few items, fast food restaurants and even banks have drive thru and we still have issues waiting. Waiting is hard work....for us. It is in waiting on God we see our faith most tested. God certainly is not in a hurry, nor does He function in our time frame. You see, He has a plan and a purpose for each of us and He takes His time developing and preparing us. For Him it is the journey, for us it is the destination. I personally believe the waiting period is the most precious time. It is where we learn to be dependant on God and grow in true intimacy with Him. We will not always understand God, He may not always makes sense (to us) but one thing is certain.... He loves us. How can a God who sent His only Son to die for us not want the very best for us, always? I don't know what you are waiting on God for but I encourage you to trust Him....even in His silence.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
April 2017
|