I was talking with God the other day and I mentioned how it would be nice if He gave me the topics He wanted me to write on in advance. I expressed how it would make me a lot more efficient and I would have more peace of mind.
That’s when He laughed and posed the following question:
“Why would I do that?”
It was more of a rhetorical question because He instantly flooded me with insight. His words…
“I’m not about your comfort. I’m about your growth. I will not feed your flesh by succumbing to your desire to be in control. I am stretching your faith. Your peace of mind should not be jeopardized because you don’t know what’s coming next or when it’s coming. You should be able to operate in full peace with the knowledge that insight, wisdom, and revelation WILL COME. I know you. You’re prone to works of the flesh and you tend to think that your efficiency is of your own doing when you are able check it off your list. You can’t do this without me. It’s through me that you are able to do anything. You must remain fully submitted and dependent on me to deliver—when I see fit. You can’t force fit me into your schedule. Be patient. Remain ready to respond. I will give you what you can handle and you can practice a much needed discipline called—“Wait on God.”
Too often we look at what God is withholding from us instead of looking to what He’s striving to develop within us. He’s already given us the greatest gift…Jesus. So, He’s not opposed to giving us good things to make life easier for us, but if He chooses to delay a desire we must seek His perspective and ask what He wants to develop in our character by keeping that “thing” just out of our reach. Is your faith being stretched? Is God striving to ensure you remain completely dependent on Him? God is calling you advanced levels of spiritual maturity on a daily basis. Go deeper. What area is God trying to work on within you by keeping that thing out of your reach? Just ask Him. Allow yourself to be stretched. Let your faith grow.
“For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.” -James 1:3-4 (NLT)
[photo credit: Dolfi, Flickr]
Ashley Ivery is a single mother of two brilliant children, Aiden and Devyn, with an overwhelming desire to empower women and help them to realize the importance of a relationship with God. Through her writing she hopes to encourage women to claim their strength and value in Christ. She graduated from Fayetteville State University in 2012 with a BS in Psychology. Her motto is: "Be Authentic. Live Honestly. Dispel Light."
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