How many times have you prayed to God for an answer and He put it right in front of you and you didn’t take it?
Life is rough! Life as a Christian, at times seems even worse. The bible says that we will face trials and tribulations, we will experience hardships, and that we will be chastened by the Lord. All of these, no matter how hard it is, makes us stronger and brings us closer to our Creator. It means He loves us and wants us to rely more on Him and come closer to Him. Many times in our lives we look for answers to things hoping that this problem we have in front of us will have a solution appear so we can get through it, around it, or just make it go away. So many times we find ourselves in these situations and when the answer presents itself we look the other way because it wasn’t the answer we were looking for, it’s not a conventional idea, or it came from someone else and it just wasn’t our idea. His ways are not our ways.
Sometimes we have to look beyond our own understanding and see what God puts in front of us and move on it. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;” Proverbs 3. Some times these solutions show up and it will be something that no one else agrees with or it’s some off the wall idea. Other times it will come from an unlikely place or it presents itself as the first step of a line of steps to get through it. Almost all of the time the solution is requiring you to step out in faith and trust in the Lord. When you rely on God even when it takes you outside of your comfort zone, you find a bigger blessing there.
I have found often in my life the easy way can sometimes lead you down the wrong path, or the long path, relying on yourself instead of God. God is a jealous God and wants to be with us and to seek Him out. The answer will often present itself from the most unlikely of places in a way that you never saw coming. God wants us to get closer and bond with Him and His word and He will use any circumstance to do it, we just have to look for it. Seek and you shall find. Many times God will use people to give you that answer, or you’ll cross paths with something like a billboard or bumper sticker. His answers come in many ways but you have to look for them and always bring it back to His word. His word, like His love is unfailing, and never changes. You can always count on Him to be there because He will never leave you or forsake you.
We can run to our church leaders looking for the answer but God doesn’t want to give it to them, He wants to give it to you. He wants to hear you and see you seek Him out for the answer, and the great thing is, that He will be with you as you step out and walk the path He gives you. One of the greatest pieces of advice I ever had is that God won’t tell you something He doesn’t want you to do. He gives it to you, to pray and move on. It’s not how other people react that matters, it’s your obedience to what God wants you to do. Sometimes He is testing your faith and other times it is something that needs done. Regardless, it’s your obedience and act of faith that God wants to see.
The answers always present themselves if you look for it, the outcome is up to you and what you do with it.
Lord, forgive us for looking to ourselves instead of You. Help us to see the answers in front of us. Help us to know your voice and accept the wisdom you give us. Increase our faith to act obediently on the path You put in front of us. Make Your steps clear that we can walk in Your footprints. You are the mighty living God that desires us. You are the jealous God that will do anything to get us. Help us to live with Your heart, see with Your eyes, and walk in Your footsteps. Amen
