DON’T PRAY YOUR WAY OUT OF GOD’S BLESSINGS

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.—Jeremiah 29:11 (KJV)

I’m glad God knows the “expected end” he has for me. This is one of my favorite days of the year. Many times throughout my life, I wondered if my end would come sooner rather than later. This was especially true back in 1983. As cocky as I was, on the exact day I turned 18 ½, I underwent a kidney transplant that would not only save my life, but in many ways, dictate how I lived it. I was a scared, confused kid who had, nine months earlier, been forced to grow up instantly and way too fast. October 6^th is the 42nd anniversary of the second-greatest event in my life: that surgery. The first was when the Lord saved my soul on October 2nd, 1973. You may think my wedding and the birth of my son should rank ahead of the surgery, but without it, those two would’ve probably never happened. I’ve had a few bone issues and three joint replacements, but I’ll take them. For the life God has given me, by way of my older brother Jim, joint replacements are a small price to pay.

Kidney Transplant Operation

Trusting in God's Plan and Peace Through Life's Uncertainties

It's comforting to know that in the verse above, God has “an expected end” for his children. It’s expected because he’s the one who decides it for each of us. Hebrews 9:27 says we each have an appointment with death, and that is one appointment we’ll keep. Though my life may have turned out differently from what I had planned, I’m glad God already knew the outcome. He planned it, and none of my life events have caught him off guard. He has never wrung his hands, wondering what he was going to do next. The verse above said he has thoughts of peace toward me, and not of evil. Romans 8:28 promises that all things, both good and bad, work together for our long-term benefit. At that time, I couldn’t see that, and didn’t like it, but it was my life, and I had to live it. I’m thankful his thoughts toward me were thoughts of peace because peace was the last thing on my mind back then. My whole world had been turned upside down and spinning off its axis, in my opinion.         

Little did I know then that forty-two years later, I would be sitting at a computer writing and bragging about how good God has been to me. I spent all my life planning to be an over-the-road trucker. The only thing I wrote was country songs. But God, who knew me before he created me in my mother's womb, knew my life story from before the womb to beyond the tomb. There has never been a second of my life that has surprised him or sent him into a panic. Psalms 139 is a beautiful chapter about how well God knows us and how precious his thoughts toward us are.

Trusting God's Plan: Embracing the Unknown Future

I kind of wonder if, back in those days, God ever looked at me and thought, boy, if you only knew what I have ahead for you, you wouldn’t grumble and worry about things you can’t do anything about. I wonder if he got anxious when I thought my life was over, and thought, if you only knew that in 2016, I would have you start writing on Facebook to encourage people every day. You’ll reach more people through your writing than you ever would on your own. I’ll have you writing books to teach youth and encourage saints. I wonder if God ever looks at me in frustration because I fail to trust him as I should.

I didn’t want to bore you with details about my life and surgery. That’s why I wrote this in a way to give God his glory. Even when I didn’t know what he was doing, he did. When I was backsliding, he didn’t love me any less, even though I brought reproach on his name. When I fail and come short of his glory, he still loves me like I was his only child.

Trusting God's Plan Through Life's Trials

Have you ever given thought to the drastic situations in your life? Those times when you were at your wits' end, but God just smiled and kept working on your case, already knowing the outcome. Too often, we’re prone to advise God on his job or tell him our opinion. How many times have we prayed and asked God to take us out of a situation? Thereby, we missed the blessing and joy he already had for us if we stuck it out to the end and trusted him. The trials we endure aren’t sent to destroy us, but to mold us into what God wants us to be.

Whatever you’re facing right now, accept it and ask God for more grace to get through it. He might be merciful and deliver you right now, but you may also be praying your way out of a blessing. It’s a joyous time when you come through a trial and are restored to God’s fellowship because he proved Himself faithful even though you sometimes weren’t.

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Prayer: Lord help us to remember Romans 8:26 where Paul says, Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Help us to be mindful that your Holy Ghost is always before your throne interceding on our behalf. Give us the grace we need to endure hardship as good soldiers (2 Timothy 2:3), realizing that rewards await us in heaven if we put our trust in you for all things. Let us always be mindful of those who watch our lives, especially in trying times, to see if our faith remains intact or if we display a weak God who cannot deliver us in times of difficulty. Help me always be a display of your grace and mercy, even in the most heartbreaking situations I may face. Amen.

Your Turn:

1) Have you ever given thought to the drastic situations in your life? Those times when you were at your wit's end, but God just smiled and kept working on your case, already knowing the outcome.

2) Have you ever been guilty of trying to tell God how to do his job and tell him what you needed, although he already knows?

3) Have you ever prayed, asking God to fix your situation by delivering you from it?