Reason #907
Two years ago tonight, I got a text message asking me if I was willing to meet someone. I was sitting in the theatre watching Batman. The truth was, I was really worried about dating again. I was fairly certain my heart couldn't handle another disappointment. I had never suffered a broken heart before, and I had finally made it to a point where I felt like the pieces had been put back together again. The last thing I wanted was to have them disassembled. Broken hearts aren't like broken bones. Those can heal up in as little as 6 weeks. A broken heart takes much, much longer than that. Really, there is no telling when it comes to the heart. I've heard of some people that die of a broken heart, and I can see how that could happen.
I know sometimes people look at my life and they think, "Things just work out for you." Friends, things don't just work out for me. It's easy to look at someone's life and believe that everything goes their way, but I don't think that's the case for me. God has worked things out for me. Trust me on this one. It's never my own doing, it's simply God's generosity. But things don't ever work out unless I pray for them, and I fully believe that's the only way to successfully make things happen.
I don't want you to think that I just spout off a request and boom, it's granted. God answers in His timing. Maybe it seems like I just have really good timing in these cases. But, again, I have to give the Lord credit for this. Because the truth is, a lot of times I don't pray for the things I should. I pray about all sorts of things, many that are still unanswered. But often times the Lord really impresses things upon my heart, and I have learned that when that happens, the best thing to do is pray about it because God is placing it there for a reason. And in this case, God was working in my heart because it was just about that time. I had been struggling with feeling guilty about praying for a relationship. I didn't really know if that was something I deserved or should even ask for. But a day or so before I met Aaron, I finally asked for it. I finally told the Lord I was ready. Of course, He knew I was. This was no surprise to Him. But we both needed me to be ready for it, and being able to ask Him for another opportunity was the first step in the right direction. After all, asking shows that we have faith that He will answer, and faith matters most to the Lord.
And so I believed that He would answer. I asked Him, and I made up my mind to trust Him. I was going to lay it in His hands and let Him take care of it. After all, He had gotten me to this point, why would He lead me somewhere that wasn't going to be a good, safe place? If I truly followed Him and waited on Him to bring me someone, it would be a good thing. It would have to be. He is the Good Shepherd who leads us to still waters and green pastures, right? And so two years ago today, I remembered that I had asked, and I thought, "Okay, you prayed about this. Now, you've got to follow through and trust that the Lord will lead you in the right direction. You can't live in fear." Believe me friends, I never, ever, ever, ever, ever imagined that two years later I'd be sitting in bed next to my blind date. I figured it'd be too much to expect that God would allow the first person I dated to be the person I would marry. But I look back now and I wonder why that even surprises me. Why didn't I expect that? After all, we should come to God with great expectation and anticipation. We shouldn't pray with doubt in our minds. We should remember that God is a miracle worker. He honors and awards great faith. Read Hebrews 11 and you'll see that. And if we ask with great faith, we can be confident that whatever we receive will be good. That's what God gives us, good things...every time.
So if it is on your heart, if you can't get it off your mind or out of your system, there's probably a reason why. Pray about it. Tell the Lord. Sure, He knows what you want and need, but He wants to hear it from you. He wants to work with you towards this thing, whatever it is. He wants to be involved. He wants to grow your faith as He answers your prayers, and most of all, He just wants your trust. He loves you, sweet friend. He cares about your heart more than anyone in this world, and the last thing He wants to do is break it. If that was the case, He would have never helped you put the pieces back together in the first place. So trust Him. He is your safe place. He won't let you down. God has good things in store for you, so believe it and don't be afraid to ask. He wants to know.
#907 - For the answers He has given me.
"I will answer them before they even call to me. While they are still talking about their needs, I will go ahead and answer their prayers!" - Isaiah 65:24
I know sometimes people look at my life and they think, "Things just work out for you." Friends, things don't just work out for me. It's easy to look at someone's life and believe that everything goes their way, but I don't think that's the case for me. God has worked things out for me. Trust me on this one. It's never my own doing, it's simply God's generosity. But things don't ever work out unless I pray for them, and I fully believe that's the only way to successfully make things happen.
I don't want you to think that I just spout off a request and boom, it's granted. God answers in His timing. Maybe it seems like I just have really good timing in these cases. But, again, I have to give the Lord credit for this. Because the truth is, a lot of times I don't pray for the things I should. I pray about all sorts of things, many that are still unanswered. But often times the Lord really impresses things upon my heart, and I have learned that when that happens, the best thing to do is pray about it because God is placing it there for a reason. And in this case, God was working in my heart because it was just about that time. I had been struggling with feeling guilty about praying for a relationship. I didn't really know if that was something I deserved or should even ask for. But a day or so before I met Aaron, I finally asked for it. I finally told the Lord I was ready. Of course, He knew I was. This was no surprise to Him. But we both needed me to be ready for it, and being able to ask Him for another opportunity was the first step in the right direction. After all, asking shows that we have faith that He will answer, and faith matters most to the Lord.
And so I believed that He would answer. I asked Him, and I made up my mind to trust Him. I was going to lay it in His hands and let Him take care of it. After all, He had gotten me to this point, why would He lead me somewhere that wasn't going to be a good, safe place? If I truly followed Him and waited on Him to bring me someone, it would be a good thing. It would have to be. He is the Good Shepherd who leads us to still waters and green pastures, right? And so two years ago today, I remembered that I had asked, and I thought, "Okay, you prayed about this. Now, you've got to follow through and trust that the Lord will lead you in the right direction. You can't live in fear." Believe me friends, I never, ever, ever, ever, ever imagined that two years later I'd be sitting in bed next to my blind date. I figured it'd be too much to expect that God would allow the first person I dated to be the person I would marry. But I look back now and I wonder why that even surprises me. Why didn't I expect that? After all, we should come to God with great expectation and anticipation. We shouldn't pray with doubt in our minds. We should remember that God is a miracle worker. He honors and awards great faith. Read Hebrews 11 and you'll see that. And if we ask with great faith, we can be confident that whatever we receive will be good. That's what God gives us, good things...every time.
So if it is on your heart, if you can't get it off your mind or out of your system, there's probably a reason why. Pray about it. Tell the Lord. Sure, He knows what you want and need, but He wants to hear it from you. He wants to work with you towards this thing, whatever it is. He wants to be involved. He wants to grow your faith as He answers your prayers, and most of all, He just wants your trust. He loves you, sweet friend. He cares about your heart more than anyone in this world, and the last thing He wants to do is break it. If that was the case, He would have never helped you put the pieces back together in the first place. So trust Him. He is your safe place. He won't let you down. God has good things in store for you, so believe it and don't be afraid to ask. He wants to know.
#907 - For the answers He has given me.
"I will answer them before they even call to me. While they are still talking about their needs, I will go ahead and answer their prayers!" - Isaiah 65:24
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