yes, no or wait

by | Inspirational, Tuesdays With Tracy

“For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome.  Then you will call upon Me, and you will come and pray to Me, and I will hear and heed you.  Then you will seek Me, inquire for, and require Me (as a vital necessity) and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.  Jeremiah 29:11-13, AMP

There was a time when my husband and I were asking God to bless us with TWINS…okay, I know what some of you are thinking, but it was our hearts desire at that time. We diligently prayed for a double blessing, but our ultrasound made it clear that there was only one heartbeat within my womb. And although we were thankful for one healthy heartbeat, I will admit that for forty-eight hours, my husband and I moped around our home in disappointment due to what we considered “unanswered prayer.” Another time that comes to mind is with a past boyfriend. I remember praying that he would fall in love with me and choose me to be his wife – all the while – my prayers were lovingly answered with a “no” because God had my best in mind.

You see, my husband is the perfect one for me and the same is true concerning my daughter, although twins are a huge blessing, God knew what we could handle and once again we thank God for His way of answering our prayers.  God knew the desire of my heart to marry and have a family and He answered our prayers with His plans for welfare and peace, to give us hope in our final outcome.

The scripture above tells us that God always hears our prayers and heeds each one.With some of our prayers requests He answers us with a “yes” (and boy do we love it when this happens!!), there are also times as in my examples above when God lovingly answers us with a “no” in order that our future outcome will be good, and other times He answers us with “wait.” Just recently I thought God answered “no” to a request of mine, only to find out a few months later that I needed to “wait” so that He could make a good situation even better!  Bottom, line, we can rest in the fact that God knows about our personal situation and He has good plans for our life.

How many times have we pouted and complained to God for not answering our prayers, when He was simply answering it with a “no” or “wait?” God knows ALL things and He is the One who knows what we can handle. It comes down to knowing God’s will for our life and trusting that He has good plans for us. Our amazing God longs to bless us, heal us, restore us and prosper us.  We are promised in Isaiah 5:11 that when we pray God’s Word it will never return back void.

Prayer:

“Lord, thank you for always hearing my prayers.  I declare that You have good plans for me. Your plans are full of hope for my final outcome and I align myself up with Your Word today. I give you everything heavy on my heart and I ask that Your perfect will be done.  As I seek and inquire of You this day, I will rest in that fact that You gave your life to heal, restore and bless me.  I grab onto the Word of God and declare that it will not return back void, but will prosper in the thing for which You sent it (Isaiah 55:11).  Amen.”

I may not know “why”…but I know “WHO”

by | Bad Day Blues, Inspirational, Tuesdays With Tracy, Warfare

Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track. Don’t assume you know it all. Run to God! Run from evil! Your body will glow with health, your very bones will vibrate with life!” Proverbs 3:5-8, The Message

One morning last week while driving down I-285, I was pondering the difficulties in my life and those around me.  Needless to say, my heart was extremely heavy, as I could not figure out “why” these challenges were going on or “what” to do about them. These thoughts led me to feelings of hopelessness, but then the Holy Spirit whispered ever so quietly to me, “Tracy, you may never know why these situations are going on but you know “Who” God is.” Within an instant I began to feel better. I got my eyes off the problem and onto God – The Solution.

The truth is:

  • When my body is sick – He is my Healer.
  • When I cannot pay my bills – He is my Provider.
  • When my mind is filled with worry – He is my Peace.
  • When my family forsakes me – He is my Father, Mother, Sister and Brother.
  • When my heart is filled with anger – He is my Forgiving Father.
  • When strife is all around me – He is my Protector.
  • When my friend betrays me – He is my Loyal Companion.
  • When I am rejected – He is my Acceptance.
  • When I don’t know what to do – He is my Wisdom.
  • When I do or say the wrong thing – He is my Grace.
  • When I can barely get out of bed – He is the Lifter of my head.
  • When I am afraid – He is my Perfect Love that casts out all fear.

I look forward to being with Cumberland Community Church on Mother’s Day! God has put a message on my heart and I am confident that He will show Himself faithful. Be encouraged today that no matter what you are going through, God is everything you need.  Run to Him and as the scripture states, “your body will glow with health and your bones will vibrate with life” (Proverbs 3:8)!

Got Faith? Promo from Cumberland Community Church on Vimeo.

See you Sunday!