Day 21

I got a call from a friend today that reminded me that life is hard. I don't know about you, but I'm a fixer. Whenever I hear of someone who is going through a hard time, I want to fix the problem the fastest way possible. Too often that is how I pray as well: "Dear God, please heal so and so. Please provide so and so with a job. Please help so and so overcome this battle." I don't actually pray like that, but many times at the root of my prayers is the exact thing that I wrote above. There is a problem. I have a solution. Unfortunately, too often I pray for my solution and not God's solution. I know as well as anyone that God uses different phases of our journey to mold us and refine us in specific ways. Does God care if we have a job, or good health or whatever else we "need"? Yes, He does. However, what's usually more important than the job, or good health, or victory from a particular sin is the journey that God takes us on to get us there. Faith and trust in God is not usually built when sailing is smooth. We discover who we are, and more importantly, who God is, when the storms of life come. He is our provider, He is our strength, He is our fortress, He is our help. The list could go on and on. The lessons God teaches us during the storms are ones that will stay with us for the rest of our lives. I look at it like building blocks. God teaches us to trust Him, and then He teaches us how to trust Him more, and then He teaches us how to trust Him even more. The Christian life should never be a stagnant one. If we aren't pushing ourselves to grow, then God will.

I once was praying to God about a situation. I don't remember exactly what it was, but it was a big issue. I remember praying for my solution, and God asked me if I wanted the situation to turn out the best way, which was His way, or my way. I had to wrestle for a minute with that one, because there was a lot at stake. My way and God's way are not always mutually exclusive of each other, but neither are they mutually inclusive. God's best way could have been to answer my prayer exactly as I prayed for it to be answered, or it could have been the exact opposite. That's the tricky part about trusting God: we know His way is best, but we might not see it like that at the time. I told God I wanted the best way, even if it meant losing everything.

I don't really remember the outcome because I'm not exactly sure what situation was. But that doesn't matter. The point is that God had strengthen my faith and taken me on a journey of building a relationship with Him that allowed me to trust Him completely in that situation. Sadly, I don't always remember that lesson when I pray. But I pray that I will. And I pray that you will.