Reason #889
Maybe, sometimes, we feel like prayer doesn't work. Like we've prayed that prayer a little longer than we want to and we finally stop. We give up thinking it was a lost cause. Either that, or the answer was no. Maybe God didn't hear us. Maybe we didn't ask for it in the right form or fashion. Maybe, we think, there is something wrong with us. Maybe God is mad, or maybe He is punishing us. But the truth is, "The Lord will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right." (Psalm 84:11) And so, really, the question isn't whether or not God hears us, it's more about what it is we're asking for.
Who would ask for bad things, right? Sounds silly to assume that we'd ever ask for something that isn't good. But what is good? What is your definition of good? And how do you really know that something is actually good if you don't have it? We just figure it has to be. From what we know, it appears to be good and so we go with what it seems. Really, we go with what we feel. But have you ever been wrong about something before? Have you ever gone into something fully believing it was good until yet it took a turn for the worst? Of course, you had no idea this was going to happen or you wouldn't have asked. And so maybe, just maybe, we actually have been known to ask for things that aren't good.
Praise the Lord that He does not withhold good things, but He may very well withhold the things that seem good. The things that disguise themselves as appealing and attractive, worthwhile and enticing. The things that put up a façade and lead you to believe something else. But the Lord knows. He sees. He sees the entire situation from beginning to end, meaning He knows exactly how it is going to end. He is totally aware of every detail, of every twist and turn you'll encounter along the way, and so maybe the reason it seems He is withholding is because the thing you are asking for right now, whatever it may be that you're so desperately wanting, is not going to be good for you in the end.
I know it's hard to see that. I know it's hard to see how your current situation could actually be better than what you're asking for. And so, you just have to trust that it is. Trust that God hears you, and He will answer accordingly. And when He does, you'll be glad that He waited to give you good things.
#889 - Because when we trust Him, it ends good.
"O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, what joy for those who trust in you." -Psalm 84:12
Who would ask for bad things, right? Sounds silly to assume that we'd ever ask for something that isn't good. But what is good? What is your definition of good? And how do you really know that something is actually good if you don't have it? We just figure it has to be. From what we know, it appears to be good and so we go with what it seems. Really, we go with what we feel. But have you ever been wrong about something before? Have you ever gone into something fully believing it was good until yet it took a turn for the worst? Of course, you had no idea this was going to happen or you wouldn't have asked. And so maybe, just maybe, we actually have been known to ask for things that aren't good.
Praise the Lord that He does not withhold good things, but He may very well withhold the things that seem good. The things that disguise themselves as appealing and attractive, worthwhile and enticing. The things that put up a façade and lead you to believe something else. But the Lord knows. He sees. He sees the entire situation from beginning to end, meaning He knows exactly how it is going to end. He is totally aware of every detail, of every twist and turn you'll encounter along the way, and so maybe the reason it seems He is withholding is because the thing you are asking for right now, whatever it may be that you're so desperately wanting, is not going to be good for you in the end.
I know it's hard to see that. I know it's hard to see how your current situation could actually be better than what you're asking for. And so, you just have to trust that it is. Trust that God hears you, and He will answer accordingly. And when He does, you'll be glad that He waited to give you good things.
#889 - Because when we trust Him, it ends good.
"O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, what joy for those who trust in you." -Psalm 84:12
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