Another Thought on Unanswered Prayer

In June I wrote a post involving Steinbeck and my dad called "Unanswered" Prayer in which I shared that maybe, sometimes, when we feel like God isn't answering our prayers, it is because the answer involves so many people and/or situations that aren't yet in place in our lives that we might not even recognize His answer as from Him if He told us what we wanted to know. Last night we had a young man from our youth group over for dinner to talk with him and spend some time together and we got talking about the future. He has a tremendous heart for God's will in His life, but experiences the uncertainty of not knowing what that is (something we all, often, experience, I would imagine). Mary Ann shared a thought with him that I believe is another reason God may not always share with us the information about the future we are requesting (seemingly not answering our prayer). She reminded him of Abraham and Sarah and the mess that came out of God telling them their future . . . and then them trying to "help God out" and make that future happen (the birth of a baby to them being the situation I am talking about). We have the whole situation with Hagar and the two sons when there was only supposed to be one and all the problems today that spring back to that moment. So, maybe, sometimes God doesn't give us an answer to a request for His will or plan for the future because He knows that we'll try and "help" it happen instead of letting Him bring it about in His timing through our surrender to His leading . . . and rather than help, we'll just mess it up. Just a thought, and one I felt was a good one. Interestingly, it was this same Abraham who earlier in his life left his homeland at God's command and traveled, not knowing where he was going, until God said stop. He is a man who should have been familiar with God leading every moment and orchestrating the timing of everything. I wonder . . . how many times do we learn a lesson and then forget it or blow it off?

God bless you all, and thanks for sharing in my life and this little blog world. We have a truly mighty and wonderful God!
Erick

Greater Wisdom . . .

(I want to preface what I am about to write by saying that I believe we too often "blame" God for what is simply the work of the enemy and part of the enemy's attack. I believe that the Bible makes it clear that we have a real enemy; that we are in a real spiritual war; that our choices and the choices of others affect us in ways that are not always God's first desire for us; that it is the devil who comes to steal, kill, and destroy; and that we often need to fight harder, intercede more strongly, and walk in greater faith and authority to see some of the victories we want and need. I strongly believe that while can work through any situation we surrender to Him, He also allows us our choices, and that much of what we accept as "God's will" for our life is not at all from Him or His first desire for us, but rather a result of the fallen world we live in, the war we are engaged in, and choices we make. With that said, today I saw something neat about a time I didn't get what I wanted, and that I do believe God was working a greater result out in . . .)

This morning we were blessed to be able to spend a few minutes on our front deck. The sun was out, the hills were beautiful and green, the flowers were vivid, the sky was a deep blue, and the coffee was hot and good. Mary Ann and I sat in two green rocking chairs we'd been given for our wedding, and the girls were sitting on the rocks enjoying the warm sun as Mary Ann and I talked and went over some stuff. Abigail was looking at a Sleeping Beauty book she had been given last night, and Bethany was reading and doing some homework she needed to catch up on. It was a special moment, and I took a picture of it to share it with you.

As we sat there the entire region was awakened by something fairly common around here—the almost deafening roar of some fighter planes practicing over Fort Hunter Liggett just to our north. It is the sound of freedom, and I love it.

I looked up and saw those planes dogfighting in the sky—banking and turning and screaming across the wide expanse. It stirs something in me very deep because, you see, that had been my dream . . . to be a jet fighter pilot. I remember to this day walking with my dad by the ocean once when I was probably about ten and him asking what I wanted to be and my replying, "A single-seater jet fighter pilot." I carried that dream up to the day when I realized my eyes were not good enough. I then went to West Point wanting to fly attack helicopters, and while I was there my eyes slipped out of Army flight school standards. So . . . I chose tanks and ended up at Fort Ord, CA, near my folks and hometown, and there I met Mary Ann and the rest is, as they say, "history."

As I sat on our deck this morning looking up wistfully at those jets so free and fast and untethered above me I glanced back down to earth and there my eyes rested on my beautiful wife, my amazing two girls, and this land in the country God has given us. I realized in that moment that if God had given me what was above (the planes) I would never have had those things in front of me (my wife, my girls, my calling as a pastor) and I realized that, while I would still love even 15 minutes in one of those jets, I wouldn't trade them for my family or job in a million years, and I am so very, very grateful I didn't get what I wanted.