What’s the one thing you want so bad right now?
…
What if God told you that you couldn’t have it?
Would you still love Him? Trust Him? Obey?
Or would it derail you?
So often we get caught up in the things WE want in life that we forget who’s really in charge.
That God knows us. Loves us. Wants what’s best for us. And sometimes we have to determine who’s will we are going to follow: His or ours.
It’s not always easy, but sometimes His “no” is really “wait” instead.
I have waited well over 15 years to move out of Idaho. The second I moved to the state, I hated it.
Here we were, driving along, seeing green, green, green, then we passed the state line into Idaho and the green stopped.
It was all brown everywhere. Brown grass, dirt, no life, no green, just dead.
I longed to go back to Oregon, where it rains all the time and is lush and green all throughout the year.
But I was stuck. Stuck in a place I hated. Stuck in a place without a church. And I thought God’s answer was no, so I tried to make the best of it.
I obeyed, I did what He asked, eventually I even accepted His answer.
But in my heart, I still longed to move.
Year after year, wasted in a dead state, full of dead people. In that part of the state, there’s no life. No zeal. No joy!
Everything is dead.
Guess where I’m writing this post from?
Oregon!
Near the ocean, where it’s absolutely, breath-takingly gorgeous.
I thought the answer was no. Stay in Idaho forever. Die there.
But it wasn’t. It was wait.
Wait 15 years and I’ll give you your joy, your desire. You just have to put Me first and trust Me. I know what I’m doing. I care about you. I’m doing this for your best. I’ll give it back to you one day, though you don’t see it now. But I want you to wait, so that when I DO give it back to you, you’ll appreciate it all the more.
Maybe what you really want in your heart of hearts isn’t a no answer, maybe it’s a wait.
But whatever the answer is, trust Him, love Him, obey Him, and know that He’s got YOUR best interest at heart!
You are fearfully and wonderfully made. Psalm 139:14. He cares for you! 