when you don't understand the process... you can trust His promises...
My college mentor sent me a text last night that her daughter is expecting. Her daughter has been waiting on the Lord to answer her prayers for a baby, and, over the years, as they would talk about the idea of visiting doctors or seeking out answers, she would always tell her mom, "If the Lord wants me to have a baby, I will." And she's not just having one baby, she's having twins!
I wrote about our report from the doctor a few weeks ago concerning Annabeth. I still have a feeling that my care and concern for her currently pales in comparison to what it will be the moment she is placed in my arms, but being her mother, and knowing that she is completely dependent on me, I absolutely want to know exactly what's going on. I want to know why we got the report we did. Is it something I am doing? Is it something I am not doing? Is there something I need to start doing or stop doing? Why?
But sometimes knowing why doesn't really matter, does it? Would the answer really make us feel any better? Would knowing why really change anything? We'd like to think so. But what happens when the answer goes something like this? "Here's the deal... and there really isn't a thing you can do it about." Still not the answer you want, is it? And sometimes we have to simply accept that we aren't ever going to know everything, or at least not as much as we'd like to, but we know that while we might be out of control, God has complete control.
I've prayed every day for Annabeth. As I am more than ready for our next sonogram, I've been specifically praying that she's growing as she should be and that she'll get to stay put until her due date. And a lot of others have been praying for her as well. That's one of the many things I love about the body of Christ, about being a part of the body of Christ. Because prayer makes a difference. And sometimes we don't understand the process, do we? We don't really know what's happening or why it's happening the way it is. And so when we don't understand the process, we trust in His promises.
"Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank Him for all that He has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus," - Philippians 4:6-7
These past 2 weeks have been filled with peace. With assurance. With confidence. Because that's what God promises. He promises to hear our prayers. He promises that when we pray about things, when we lay them at His feet rather than laboring over them and filling our time with worry, we'll experience His peace. And it's inexplicable peace. The kind of peace that only He can give because there's no way you'd ever be able to feel that way on your own.
And God answers. Some answers come quickly and clearly, and some require us to wait. I don't know why. I don't know His timeline. I don't pretend to understand His ways. But I am thankful that regardless of what worry fills our minds, regardless of what disappointments we face in life, regardless of what valleys we walk through or mountain tops we dance on, we have a God who hears us. A God who bends His ear our way and listens. A God who doesn't ignore us, forget about us, or push us to the back burner. Rather, we have a God who promises peace. Who promises to guard our hearts and our minds. And who knows exactly what we're thinking, what we're feeling, and what we're needing when we can't come up with the words on our own.
When you don't know, when you aren't sure, when you're feeling anxious or tired of waiting, trust in His promises. He'll walk with you through the process.
"I am praying to you because I know that you will answer, O God. Bend down and listen as I pray." - Psalm 17:6
I wrote about our report from the doctor a few weeks ago concerning Annabeth. I still have a feeling that my care and concern for her currently pales in comparison to what it will be the moment she is placed in my arms, but being her mother, and knowing that she is completely dependent on me, I absolutely want to know exactly what's going on. I want to know why we got the report we did. Is it something I am doing? Is it something I am not doing? Is there something I need to start doing or stop doing? Why?
But sometimes knowing why doesn't really matter, does it? Would the answer really make us feel any better? Would knowing why really change anything? We'd like to think so. But what happens when the answer goes something like this? "Here's the deal... and there really isn't a thing you can do it about." Still not the answer you want, is it? And sometimes we have to simply accept that we aren't ever going to know everything, or at least not as much as we'd like to, but we know that while we might be out of control, God has complete control.
I've prayed every day for Annabeth. As I am more than ready for our next sonogram, I've been specifically praying that she's growing as she should be and that she'll get to stay put until her due date. And a lot of others have been praying for her as well. That's one of the many things I love about the body of Christ, about being a part of the body of Christ. Because prayer makes a difference. And sometimes we don't understand the process, do we? We don't really know what's happening or why it's happening the way it is. And so when we don't understand the process, we trust in His promises.
"Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank Him for all that He has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus," - Philippians 4:6-7
These past 2 weeks have been filled with peace. With assurance. With confidence. Because that's what God promises. He promises to hear our prayers. He promises that when we pray about things, when we lay them at His feet rather than laboring over them and filling our time with worry, we'll experience His peace. And it's inexplicable peace. The kind of peace that only He can give because there's no way you'd ever be able to feel that way on your own.
And God answers. Some answers come quickly and clearly, and some require us to wait. I don't know why. I don't know His timeline. I don't pretend to understand His ways. But I am thankful that regardless of what worry fills our minds, regardless of what disappointments we face in life, regardless of what valleys we walk through or mountain tops we dance on, we have a God who hears us. A God who bends His ear our way and listens. A God who doesn't ignore us, forget about us, or push us to the back burner. Rather, we have a God who promises peace. Who promises to guard our hearts and our minds. And who knows exactly what we're thinking, what we're feeling, and what we're needing when we can't come up with the words on our own.
When you don't know, when you aren't sure, when you're feeling anxious or tired of waiting, trust in His promises. He'll walk with you through the process.
"I am praying to you because I know that you will answer, O God. Bend down and listen as I pray." - Psalm 17:6
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