Recently, I'd been confronted with an obstacle in my life. Whereby, I sought the help of the Lord, to assist me with a problem. In seeking His assistance, I was pretty specific as to how I thought He should handle the matter.
For about two weeks, I struggled spiritually. Based on the problem, I knew I needed the Lord to act quickly. So, of course I asked the Lord to perform a much needed miracle in my life. I prayed, I cried, I cried and I prayed. Hoping the Lord would adhere to my request in the manner of which I asked Him, too.
While waiting on a response from the Lord and considering I "believed" the problem had reached sudden death. Satan began to seep in. He challenged me on every hand about God's inability to perform a miracle. Especially, when it was down to the wire, and I "believed" God had yet to respond.
Too make a long story short, God did respond. But, not in the way I had expected. I'd expected Him to answer me in the form of a miracle, something that would put me in awe of His power and shut the mouth of Satan. Yet, He responded quietly without fan fare. For, He gave me favor amongst men in resolving the matter.
While studying the Word of God, I ran across the passage of scripture whereas, Elijah had become afraid when he received a message from Jezebel saying she was going to kill him, after he had killed the prophets of Baal. He fled for his life and went into the wilderness (See Kings 1 19:1-4).
He rested underneath a tree where an Angel of the Lord appeared unto him. He fed Elijah and told him to prepare for the journey ahead of him. At which time the Lord, Himself spoke to Elijah telling him to go out and stand before His presence on the mountain. With this being said, let's take a look at 1 Kings 19:11-13 (New Living Translation):
11"Go out and stand before me on the mountain," the Lord told him. And as Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.
12And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper.
13When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And a voice said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"
Based on my study of 1 Kings Chapter 19, I began to realize that I had not fully matured in the Lord as much as I thought. You see, I was too busy looking for God in the windstorm or the earthquake. Whereas, I failed to see Him in the everyday aspect of my life, blessing me with His divine favor.
The more I think about it, it was my own selfish reasons with wanting God to act supernaturally. Maybe, I wanted to prove something to Satan. But, God is God. He doesn't have to prove anything to anyone. He doesn't need to show Himself to me or Satan, for that matter. Because just like me, Satan must bow to Him, too.
I realized I'd battled needlessly with discouragement and disappointment. It was I who wanted God to quiet the voice of Satan in my head, by proving His awesome power. And, when He didn't prove Himself in the way I thought He should. I became despondent.
I know realize that I was wrong, and I sought the Lord's forgiveness in the matter. Instead of trying to match wits with the enemy, I should have focused more on His Word, where it reads (Proverbs 3:5-6, New Living Transalation):
5Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.
6Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.
Further, the book of Isaiah 55:8-9 (New Living Translation) reveals:
8"My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts," says the Lord. "And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.
9For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts."
Therefore, I realize when the answer is not what you expect, you must trust the answer you do receive is the "best" answer. Because He knows all about us. He sees the beginning as well as the end. He's in the minutes, the seconds, and the very hour of all that we will do in this life. He knows our coming in, as well as our going out. He knows what we need, when we need it and oh....so importantly, how much we need it. He designed the outcome and lead us down a path which is best suited for our lives.
In order for Him to act fully in our lives, we must be totally dependent upon Him. Even when we get the answer we don't expect, we must trust that the answer He does provide is for our benefit. For we know, that everything works together for the good of them who love and put their trust in Him.
Yes....there is still much growing too do in my life. But, I've open my heart up to Him and I'm willing to receive all that He has for me and more. So, the next time you don't get the answer you expect. Just trust that He knows best. For He is far above able to bring you out of any circumstance, which will stand in your favor.
Blessings!!
No comments:
Post a Comment