There’s more to come

Yesterday, while taking a “shortcut” home from work that resulted in a longer commute, I listened to one of my many Joyce Meyer cd’s.  Well, I sort of listened.
Her one-liners tend to strike me at my very core and send my mind racing away from her voice and into my own thoughts which is one of the reasons I love her so much.

I was feeling ridiculously peaceful yesterday about a situation that I  believed had been resolved. Ever been there? Finally, we think to ourself, that backpack full of rocks on my shoulders can be taken off and I can resume life without the burden.  Life is good, my faith is restored, my prayers acknowledged and answered in agreement….

and then it happens. The situation is still there, the problem still running amuck in our life, and the backpack is hurled back onto our slumped shoulders with another boulder added for good measure. The worst thing about realizing the situation hasn’t been “resolved”? It steals our peace. It steals our faith.

And I hate that. I hate that my peace can be so easily hijacked.

So Joyce was cautioning me on this cd yesterday afternoon against constantly questioning God. “When, God, when?” “Why, God, why?”  Here I am this morning doing that very thing. When, God, is this issue going to be resolved? Why, God, do you bait me with a glimpse of how I envision things just to snatch it away?

Well….I’m not allowing my peace to be stolen right from under my nose this time. God is in control. I’m not just going to SAY it; I’m going to BELIEVE it.    So, with a peace-filled soul, I’m going to enjoy my Friday off from work. I may go and buy myself something new or treat myself to a pedicure or a nap.

Spending the day in an exhausting game of hide and seek? Nope. Not this time.

There’s more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we’re hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we’re never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can’t round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!  ~Romans 5:3 (The Message)