It is better to live right and be poor than to be sinful and rich.

~Psalm 37:16~

If we feel we aren’t able to reach God with our prayers, the fault lies only in us.  He is right there waiting to give us the blessings we need and deserve.  It is not God who is closing off the channels of communication; this is our issue to resolve.  He is wide open even when we remain closed.  Although you may be certain that you have “given it over to Him,” there may be something in your flesh that isn’t completely relinquishing your illusion of control.

It doesn’t matter that you “say” you are giving it to Him to take care of if you are on pins and needles waiting to see, like a child on Christmas eve waiting for Santa, if He is going to bring you what you have been praying for.  If we don’t truly surrender and let our desire to control or manipulate or even to wish our desired outcome into being, we aren’t really “open” to receiving God’s will for our lives.  We must receive it as He presents it, not as we hope it will be.  In other words, sometimes what He sends and what we pray for are not the same thing.  We must receive His will for us and not deflect those outcomes which fail to please our flesh.  There is always a good reason for what He sends our way.

For example, when I left my job about a month ago I was following God’s prompting to do so.  I had nothing lined up and I wasn’t sure how I was going to be able to support myself.  I just knew that I needed to do what He said to do.  I applied for high paying jobs in my field of “expertise,” hoping that I could make a better life for my daughter and I if I were making more money.  Now, I knew this was stupid because I had tried making that “better life” once before and I hated it.  And so, I prayed.  I didn’t actually pray for a $60,000 a year job with full benefits, but I was hoping for one.  What He sent was a $12,000 a year, part-time job with no benefits.  I received it.  And now, a few weeks into things, I am happier than I have been in a long time.  I have what I need to survive and my life is basically peaceful.  I enjoy going to work and I look forward to the work I am doing.  I like everything about it and I know that He means for this to lead me further down the path He has set for me and onto the next level.

God always wants better for us than what we want for ourselves.  Where I have been willing to settle, He is not.  And though we may feel the urge to turn our noses up at what He gives us, we must lay aside our idea of what is perfect.  We must forget what we desire and look to Him for the answers that make sense in His plan for us. 

What scares you the most?  What have you been failing to receive because you just can’t let Him do what He wants to do in your life?  What has He sent your way recently that didn’t seem to measure up to your standards?  Why?  Can you see your mistake now?  Do you really want what He has for you?  It’s really not your call, though many of us go through our whole lives thinking that if He isn’t delivering on our prayers in exactly the way we think He should, then He just doesn’t love us or want us to be happy.  I assure you, it’s certainly not a matter of God withholding His love.  He always knows what is best for us and when we are prepared to accept that, every blessing He sends our way will make perfect sense and bring perfect joy.

Trust the Lord and follow Him.  He will give you the land and you will see the wicked destroyed.

~Psalm 37:34~

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