Not one of all
the Lord’s good promises to the house of Israel failed; every one was fulfilled (NIV 1984, Joshua 21:45).
What a testimony!
And yet, could we claim any different?
Usually if I think
God isn’t coming through, it’s because I’ve gotten impatient. If God doesn’t do
what I think he should do when I think he should do it, that doesn’t mean he
isn’t working. It means something else is going on.
Another reason I
might think I’ve come up short with God is that sometimes I put words in his
mouth. Let’s face it; God didn’t promise me a vintage Jaguar XKE (although I
think we all agree how great I’d look driving one down the street). It’s
amazing how the frills of life can get labeled as necessities.
And other times it’s
because I don’t recognize God’s hand of mercy. Sometimes God shows his mercy by
saying, No. I’d probably get all sorts of speeding tickets in that Jaguar,
although they do look really cool cruising along nice and slow – not that I’ve
thought about it all that much.
The bottom line is
that God answers prayer in accordance with his will, and his will for me is
always better than my selfish yearnings or best laid – though naïve – plans. We
struggle against his will, not realizing doing so means we are settling for
less than God’s best.
TODAY’S MEDITATION
When’s the last time you looked
back and were gently surprised at God’s faithfulness? Take inventory. Then
thank him for the blessings of answered and unanswered prayer.
No comments:
Post a Comment