Between You And God #19

Dear God, Sometimes I ask you for things, things that are important to me, but time goes by and I don’t feel like you’re listening or answering. Are you?

Once upon a time there was a girl who loved all creatures, great and small, from the largest horse to the smallest bug. She asked her mother one day for an ant farm so she could watch as the busy little ants went about their day building and moving and eating and working. Her mom said, “Maybe. But not now.”

“But I really want an ant farm,” the girl insisted. “I have enough money to buy one of those ones with three rooms so I can watch the ants go from one room to the other and back again.” When her mother didn’t immediately agree, the girl pouted. “There’s nothing in the Bible that says I can’t have an ant farm,” she grouched. “And I can pay for it myself.” The girl wanted an ant farm, but her mom wouldn’t agree right then. A cool distance grew between them because the girl wouldn’t stop being angry about her frustrations and she couldn’t understand why her mom had said no.

A few months later it was the girl’s birthday, and guess what she got? Not an ant farm—an ant village! This version had more than three rooms; it had an ant bank, an ant store, an ant playground, and many tunnels. But when the gift was opened, the pleasure for both mom and daughter was a little sour because of all the angry words that had been spoken. The present had been bought months before and was stored under the mom’s bed, waiting for just the right time to be presented: on the girl’s birthday.

Sometimes we do not understand why we hear the words no or maybe or not yet. Wait patiently for God to surprise you with the desires of your heart.

How about You?

What is the thing you’ve asked God for, but he hasn’t given it to you? Are you able to trust . . . and wait?

God Says . . .

Be still in the presence of the LORD, and wait patiently for him to act. Psalm 37:7