You search and search until you don't know what else to do and want to just give up.
I am sure many of you have faced questions about God's ability or willingness to answer a prayer (big or small) at some point in your life.
That was me this week.
Our chocolate lab got out of the fence...again and decided to go on a lil Ferris Bueller's day off doggie adventure. (If only there was a way to hear and see how unamused I am as I write that)
I ran inside, grabbed some dog treats (necessary), my dog whistle (pointless) and my car keys and set off like Christopher Columbus to explore our neighborhood...only there was no ocean blue and I wasn't sure if when I found what I was searching for I'd be anxious to claim it or not.
Nevertheless I prayed and started looking. I wasn't really worried. It had only taken maybe 10 minutes the last two times this happened to find her so I had no reason to doubt God would come through for me again. After all He had been faithful before. He knew how much it meant to me. How much that dog has helped me through some of the worst days with my health.Judge me if you want but she's more of a friend than an animal. A really hairy,slobbery friend but still.
Well...
10 minutes passed and No Koa.
20 minutes passed and No Koa.
30 minutes passed and No Koa.
45 minutes passed and still No Koa.
Let's just say my optimistic "I know God will bring her to me again" response morphed (Transformer style) into "God where the heck is this turd of a dog and where are you?!?"
I was tired of looking...dog tired...not because she wasn't worth finding but because I was growing more desperate feeling like I had exhausted every possibility with no result. Frustrating!
How often does that happen to us in our lives? We hope for something.Have faith it'll happen.Pray for it.Believe for it. But then the longer we have to wait the harder it becomes. We begin to lose patience. We lose hope. We lose faith. And all because it isn't happening the way we want it to. The way we hoped it would.The way we expected it to.
We get so caught up in how we feel about what the situation looks like to us that the frustration begins to take precedence over the truth.
The truth was...God was still in control no matter what the conditions of the situation were or appeared to be. The truth was...worrying would do absolutely nothing to help. The truth was...God had proven faithful before.
I realized my faith had been misplaced from the moment I grabbed that doggie whistle. It was in my expectations of finding her my way not in God's faithfulness.Because if it had been in God's faithfulness my attitude wouldn't have changed when my expectations weren't met. And I wouldn't have almost busted a lung blowing the crud out of that stupid dog whistle... (note to self: train Koa to actually come to me when I blow it)
About an hour later I found Koa in another neighborhood. There she was just sniffing around in some oblivious person's front yard without a care in the world. Nice. But I wonder if that's how God is with us? Just faithfully doing his thing while we freak out searching for him. He's always right there, not worried, knowing things are under control and he'll show up when the time is right.
"Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, do not despair, for these things will surely come to pass. Just be patient! They will not be overdue a single day!" Habakkuk 2:3
I know you may think it strange comparing finding a dog and praying for something from God but regardless of the situation the truth remains. God is faithful even when our circumstances aren't. No matter what things look like, no matter how you may feel about it. Don't give up. Keep pushing through. Keep believing. Keep trusting God will bring you to whatever you're hoping for.
It's not easy to wait, believe me I know. I face it every day with my health and Jeremy and I wanting a baby. But I don't want a dog tired faith that runs out when things don't go how I hope. The good news is we can have unshakeable faith and joy while we wait knowing God's got it under control and will deliver in His perfect timing.
"I trusted in, relied on, and was confident in You, O Lord; I said, You are my God. My times are in Your hands..." Psalm 31:14-15
All the frustration and worry didn't matter when I saw that goofy brown eyed dog. Oh don't get me wrong she still got put in time out when we got home but I was just so happy to have her back. It was all worth it and I found myself wondering why I ever freaked out in the first place.
You may be dog tired waiting for whatever it is you're praying for but it's imperative that our hope remains in a God that doesn't change despite the conditions. He is always good and always faithful. Just like the dog whistle, He hears your cry He just isn't ready to respond yet. He does things his way and His way is far better than ours!
"A man's mind plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps and makes them sure." Proverbs 16:9
