My children come to me constantly asking for different things ranging from toys to animals and everything in between. Part of me wants to give them everything their little heart’s desire. Part of me realizes I would be raising spoiled monsters if I parented in that way. Some things may fall into the realm of possibility while others are so outlandish I just laugh and say, “Baby, that ain’t happening.” Currently, my horse-addicted daughter is attempting to gather money for a new saddle to use when she rides horses at her Poppa and Grams house (she is outgrowing her old saddle). She’s been talking about it for well over a month now. Every time she visits and spends a few days she always returns home with a renewed focus on how she can attain her goal. When we picked her up from her visit yesterday she began informing me how much money we needed to ‘give’ her. While I want her to learn a good work ethic, the importance of saving, and other life lessons that will serve her throughout life, I decided to throw a little encouragement in her direction. I said, “Well, I’m not just going to give you the full amount but here’s a little bit towards it,” as I handed her Gram a little money. You would have thought I’d handed her a million dollars. That beautiful face lit up and you could see the excitement of nearing her goal dancing in her eyes. When I make any type of promise to my children, big or small, I work hard to fulfill what I assured them I would do. I want them to know they can trust me and I’m always here for them in their time of [genuine] need. What do you think would happen if she went six months without getting any closer to her goal? I know her well enough to know she would eventually give up on something that was, at one time, extremely important to her. After a while she would lose hope of ever attaining her heart’s desire.
What is your saddle? What is it that you are believing God for? The salvation of a family member, the solution to an impossible situation, or healing of some sort? How long have you been waiting on fulfillment of a particular promise from God? Believing what God has promised you He would do requires faith. Faith, for all intents and purposes, is a sacrifice as it requires you to set aside logic, personal feelings, and assumptions when what you’re being asked yields the possibility of no return. Joshua 6:2-5 tells us, “Then the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have the whole army give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the army will go up, everyone straight in.” What would have happened if Joshua disobeyed God’s commands and decided to take a few shortcuts along the way? Let me inform you how bargaining with God works. It doesn’t! God’s plans may not always make sense to us but He’s not an auctioneer. He’s not in the bargaining business. Are you looking for shortcuts? Let me encourage you—don’t do it!
Closing remarks and encouragement: Our waiting seasons can seem like pure torture. Fear, worry, and anxiety all tend to attack at the same time. Shortcuts seem like the perfect way to attain our goals but will rarely yield a return (if at all) when God is involved. The process seems tedious, frustrating, and downright painful at times. But God has a plan. Follow God’s [sometimes] confusing directions and just keep marching around your wall. Eventually it will come down. I speak from experience when I say, you can trust Daddy-God. You don’t have to understand. Just trust.