Have you ever felt like you’re just walking through this life, not quite sure where God is leading you? You wake up tired almost every day. Days seem long and repetitive and you’re asking God, “what is all this for?” You try to do the works that He asks of you, and you just find yourself getting more and more frustrated. You feel like you give so much but receive little. You’re wondering, “Does God even hear me? Why does it seem like everyone is getting a breakthrough but me? Why does it feel like the enemy is winning? I’ve prayed, I’ve fasted and yet still I feel like nothing is changing. I’m still in the same spot that I was last year. I’m tired and I just want to give up. God, where are you?”
If those questions or thoughts seem familiar, know that you are not alone. This is the way I have been feeling for a long time. Yet, somehow I know a change IS coming. God’s timing never matches our timing, but His timing is always ON TIME. The enemy is smart, he is smooth, he is convincing, and if you listen to him, you will believe his lies. Don’t do it. God has never let you down before and He is not going to start now. It may feel like He has at times because perhaps the thing you were praying for didn’t materialize, or the way you thought a certain situation was going to turn out, didn’t end up that way. But you can guarantee that if God didn’t allow it to happen, it is better that it didn’t. See, we cannot see the future. We can hope for it; we can dream about it; we can pray about it; we can even plan for it. But we cannot predict it.
God is the author of our stories. He knows every bend, every hill and mountain. He knows every route, every pit stop, every detour because He designed the journey. He knows which road will lead to the next and He even has food for you along the way. Food that will nourish you when you become tired and irritated. He already has the bag packed with all the essential tools you will need to make sure you make it to your destination alive. For some, the trip is a day trip and for others it’s much longer. The thing is, God doesn’t always let us know how long the trip will be. We kind of just have to wait and see. And we can ask Him “Are we there yet” all we want. Chances are, the answer will always be the same, “Not yet, but soon.”
The enemy will try to run you off course but you have to stay focused and keep pressing. If you want to see the promises that God has for you, you’ve got to keep trusting Him. One of my favourite scriptures in the book of Proverbs says: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart. And lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6). I like this scripture because it acknowledges two things: One, there is going to be a lot of things in our life time that we are not going to understand. A lot of situations that we are going to be confused by. Situations that will create doubt in our minds; situations that will create fear in our minds; and situations that will make us feel alone. God knows all of this but He says, it’s ok. “Fear not. I am here with you.” The second thing that this scripture acknowledges is that God has it all under His control; His design and His plan. That is why He asks us to acknowledge Him. He wants us to say “God, I know this is You. I know you have allowed this. I don’t know why because it doesn’t make sense to me. I don’t like the way that this has turned out—it hurts. But I trust you and I love you. Even though I don’t get it, I still thank you. Help me to be strong and show me the way to handle this.” I have found that saying that simple prayer when things don’t go my way, brings me a calmness—a peace in my mind to know that somehow everything will work out.
In Galatians 6:9, it says: “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” There are two things in this scripture to highlight as well. One: there will be times when we get tired of doing good. It will seem burdensome. You will be mocked. You will be tempted to “give them a piece of your mind”. But God says, don’t do it. Don’t give up. Keep sowing, keep doing what I have asked. Keep pressing, because if you do and you don’t give up, I promise you a harvest. A harvest that will be so big and so plentiful that all of the hard work, the tears, the pain, the bruises, the sweat will be worth it.
So don’t give up. Keep your eyes on the Lord, shut off your ears to the enemies lies, dip into your bag of spiritual food constantly and trust in Him. The road might seem long but if you stay on course, you will reach your destination. God bless.
