How many times, when we truly want Gods help – when we need Him – do we sit back and say, ‘God – take your time. I know you’re doing these little things, setting a bunch of things in motion, and in your time – not mine – you will answer my prayer. And it may not be in the way I expect, and that’s ok…’? How many times do we say that in our prayerful conversations with God?
When we’re going through something, and we ask God for help, we want it immediately. Or at least in the short term. We’re like little kids and we want things now! And in the way we planned it. We don’t want to wait. It’s not until we become much more wise and experienced in our spiritual journey and in our relationship with Christ that we can begin to see where He is active in our life and yet at the same time – be patient and wait for Him and His answer.
And then when that answer comes – being able to not only accept the yes, and the no.
And it’s in these times we lament, ‘but God – I played the flute for you and you did not dance!’ In today’s world it may be, ‘I was happy, but you did not seem to notice, and then you let this tragedy happen to me.’
And then we say, ‘I sang a dirge, but you did not weep.’ Or perhaps in other words, ‘and when I was struggling and in pain in the midst of tragedy, I did not feel you there with me, helping me.’
But then God says, ‘my son, in your pain I played the flute for you. I came to you through others, through your friends, through strangers you encountered, I brought joy to you. I made you smile through the pain. I showed you the beauty that was life in the world you live in and I was there by your side. I let you know it was going to be ok, yet you didn’t see me. You were distracted. You expected someone else, something else. You had your own plan. Your pride was preventing you from feeling My Presence. So I allowed My Grace to fully enter your life. To raise you up, out of your depths.’
And God continues, ‘my daughter, yes, you were living life. You had a lot of things, and you were on top of the world, so you thought. You didn’t need me anymore, so you thought. And I wept. You did not see Me. I wept for you because I saw where you were headed, I love you so much, and you were forgetting your roots, forgetting Who made you, forgetting where you came from, and forgetting your dignity, assuming it would all be ok in the end. Pride was taking a foothold in you and it would fester. It was preventing you from feeling My Presence. So I allowed My Grace to enter your life. To bring you down, so you could rise even higher.’
But so often, we do not see. So often, we do not recognize Jesus in our midst. So many Messengers are sent, every day. Not just guys like John the Baptist and St. Paul and of course God in the flesh, but Jesus comes to us through the regular people in our lives, every day. Do we see Him?
Do we let Him bring us up out of our depths, and down from our lofty self-righteousness and truly see the work He is doing in our lives, His Presence in our midst? Or do we think we don’t need Him? Or do we think that He is not there with us, and expecting great signs and miraculous events?
The answer is that Jesus comes to us in the ways we least expect. I can look back, countless times in my life and say, ‘yep, I knew God was there. Or that person was sent from God. Or yeah, that was a result of God’s grace. Simple as that. And you know what? It turned out far better than I could have imagined!’
But even if we don’t realize Him when we’re going through whatever it is, the greatest thing we can do is simply thank Him, and praise Him for all the good He has done, even when we don’t deserve it. Especially when we don’t deserve it.
But the sooner we can see His work and His Presence in our everyday lives, the better we can truly enjoy the life He provides for us and truly be Him to others the cross our path in our lives.
