Friday, April 4, 2008

Forgotten By God or Not?

I cannot remember how many times through the years I have felt forgotten by Papa. Over the years as I prayed for Him to come to our circumstances He didn't seem to come. I was left waiting. It didn't look like He was ever coming. Doubts rose up to the surface. I began to question my value to Him. There were even times I wondered if maybe I wasn't His. I knew the familiar verses: "Call out to me and I will answer you"; "Ask and it shall be given to you"; "The Father loves to give good gifts to His children". Many of these verses troubled me more than comforted me. I was asking, why wasn't He answering me?

I've never been very fond of waiting. I like to see what's happening or at least have some evidence that something is going to happen. But often with Papa, there are no evidences and often He leaves me waiting.

I know there are many in the scriptures who had the privilege of waiting on Papa. Hannah begged Papa for a son and waited for fulfillment. Joseph waited to be released from prison, David waited to be crowned king, somewhere around 18 years. Noah, Abraham & Sarah all waited. All were given promises, all were left waiting. At least I'm in good company.

In the study I'm doing, Jennifer Kennedy Dean talks of waiting on God. She says, "When it appears from earth that God is delaying, He is really putting the pieces together that you had not thought of. When God builds a waiting period into the course of your affairs, it means that what He is doing requires it. His apparent delays are loving, purposeful and deliberate."

Papa knows the plans He has for us. "In every situation in our lives He is engineering the circumstances so that His power and glory will be on display." He wants to do more than we can think or imagine, but often it requires a waiting period. If He had healed Lazarus, Mary & Martha would have seen Jesus heal a sickness. But in raising Him from the dead, many saw Jesus had power over death and many believed. Papa's ways are so much higher than we can imagine.

Jennifer says, "Even though it appears sometimes that prayer isn't working, the truth is God is acting in fulfilled time. The word fulfilled means: filled full. When the time is ripe, when all the pieces have been put in place, God's answer will be revealed. His concern is not time but timing. Everything has a ripe moment."

She gives the example of Moses. If you think of all the things that had to fall perfectly into place it causes you to revel in the awesomeness of Papa. It didn't just happen that Pharoah's daughter was bathing in the Nile at just the right time for Moses' basket to be nearby. Had he not cried when he did he would have stayed hidden in the bulrushes and not found a home in Pharoah's palace. He would have never been familiar with the Egyptian way of life. When all this was taking place only Papa knew that Moses would return to Egypt to deliver His people.
His ways are much higher.

It puts it all into perspective for me. So many times I have been waiting on Papa, thinking that He forgot me. All the while He has been putting things into place. He knows the plans He has for me. What I think is my best does not even come close to His best. He knows the plans.

It all comes back to trust, just like it always does. Do I trust in His higher ways?

Waiting will come again in my life. It's actually here now. May I wait this time with the knowledge that God is creating the best, setting the stage, putting things into place to reveal His kingdom here on earth in ALL my circumstances. It is the cry of my heart.

How about you? What are you waiting on? Papa is making His plans, getting all things ready in your life. After all, timing is everything.

Psalm 27: 13 I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living
14 Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.

Jewelz
*Qutoes from Jennifer Kennedy Dean's book "Live a Praying Life"
©copyrighted 2008 by Julie L. Todd

11 comments:

Marsha said... Reply to comment

And what about the Israelites waiting for the Promised Land - 40 years in the desert.

When I stop putting God into a clock and realize He's is eternity and is not bound by time, it begins to sink into my head that He has not forgetten me. It's as you said, its not 'time' for fulfillment. He has more He desires for me to learn and grow.

Thanks for this thought provoking post.

Laura said... Reply to comment

Hello, my friend! I have come to understand this lesson personally in the last two years. When my husband finally accepted Jesus, it was on God's timing, not mine. And He placed amazing circumstances around that timing to draw my husband close to Him and grow His faith. This is such a powerful lesson! Seeing God's timing so personally has allowed me to let go of so many things that the Lord has asked me to give to Him. Such peace there is in knowing that He will handle these situations in a way beyond my expectations!
Love to you, lady!
Laura

Mrs.Naz@BecomingMe said... Reply to comment

Thank you Jewlz. So you are so wize. Right now we are waiting on a new job for my husband.

Kimberly said... Reply to comment

"When it appears from earth that God is delaying, He is really putting the pieces together that you had not thought of."

I am such a planner. I want details. I want to know what is going to happen when! So I for sure have trouble waiting for God to move or to reveal His wisdom to me! This was such a great post!

I love the quote up at the top. No matter how good I may think I am at planning, there will always be things I don't think of. He is a MUCH better planner than I am (hello! He IS the Creator of the universe!), and I need to wait on Him and trust Him! :)

Praying for you in your season of waiting! I am waiting for some wisdom myself!

Love you,
K

Anonymous said... Reply to comment

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Anonymous said... Reply to comment

Julie,

Boy! I sure know how hard it can be to wait on the Lord. I prayed for over 10 years for God to heal my marriage before I saw any evidence that He heard me. Although, I would do it all over again for what I have gained from those years of waiting.When God begins to reveal the beautiful plans He has for us - it is most certainly worth the wait!

Thanks for sharing your words of wisdom.

Much love,
Amy

Tea with Tiffany said... Reply to comment

Waiting. Did you have to talk about that? I am so glad you did. Boy, I know this word. And I am not the best wait-er. Maybe better than I was ten years ago, but still impatient.

I loved Jennifer's thoughts. I'm taking them in. So true too that His ways are higher than ours. I recently read a devo either in Streams of the Desert or My Utmost about waiting. SO good.

Yes, I am waiting. I am waiting for Him to reveal the next step in a lot of areas. Want a list? However, this is one of the first waits where I feel like maybe I am waiting in peace. Not as restless. I feel like I am learning what true trust looks like.

I don't want to get too comfortable in the wait. And become complacent. I want to actively seek to grow in my relationship with Him. He is working out the details, if we stay still long enough, He will return with the provision. Will He find us still there? Maybe, maybe not.

If you are anything like me, you have to learn the same lessons over and over again. I think I have learned to completely trust Him, then I fret again. Ect. It's a battle to stay surrendered to His care in all areas. But there is where we are the most free!

And I am ready to start soaring and seeing new sights. On His wing, maybe?

Love your heart for Papa. He loves you. No matter how long the wait is, His plan is good.

Sidenote: Thanks for the comment about marriage. I enjoyed reading your words. Actually, I enjoy all of your comments.

Anonymous said... Reply to comment

Julie, It is such a wonderful blessing to know Papa orchestrates all things for our good. Thanks for this beautiful post.

Karen Hossink said... Reply to comment

Wonderful thoughts here, Julie. He never forgets, and I love that.
Trust Him. That's what I need to do.

Connie Barris said... Reply to comment

along the lines of this...

a great book... recommended from the guy that wrote the Shack...

He Loves Me by Wayne Jacobsen

Anonymous said... Reply to comment

It seems that we never come to the place where we are not waiting for something. If we are not careful we get our eyes too much on the future and not enough on today. The future comes all too fast even though we grow impatient with waiting. I enjoyed your post.
In Christ,
Charlotte