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.”

God Given Dreams

by | Inspirational, Tuesdays With Tracy

“Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit says the Lord of hosts.”  Zechariah 4:6

Has God given you a dream that has yet to come to pass?  If your answer is “yes,” then I am sure you are aware that a God-inspired dream can be fulfilled in just 20 minutes or it can take up to 20 years!  The problem is that during our waiting season, we often get anxious and try to fulfill our God-given dreams without God!  But our self-effort only leads to frustration and failure!

Lets face it, if God gives us a dream; it is ridiculous for us to think that we can do it without His help! Zechariah 4:6 clearly tells us that it is not by might (wealth, position or prestige) or by power (our own physical strength and intelligence), but it is by the Spirit of God (His supernatural movement) that our God-given dreams will be accomplished here on earth.

Just take a moment right now and think about the dreams and desires God has placed within your heart.  Go ahead and think about it and I will wait for you right here.  Okay, now let me ask you: Have you given up on your dreams?  Have you tried to fulfill them on your own?  Are you waiting expectantly for God to bring them to pass? No matter your response, I want to encourage you today that your God-given dream is worth the wait!  It is time for you to dream again.  It is time for you to wait in anticipation of your dreams because they WILL come to pass in due time.  Whether it is twenty minutes or twenty years for you to see the fulfillment – God is faithful and He will fulfill His promise!

Prayer:
“Lord, I give you the dreams that you have placed within my heart.  I declare that You will bring them to pass in due time.  You are faithful and I trust that I will see the fulfillment of my dreams according to Your Spirit.  No matter how long I must wait I declare that it will be worth it!  Amen.”