Saturday, September 21, 2013

Answers Come....

Photo courtesy of taliesin of morguefile.com
I often have people ask me (or see/hear them ask others) what they're supposed to do with their writing, or some aspect of it, or some other task. My answer is always the same - PRAY ABOUT IT.

God knows exactly what HE desires for you, your life, and your work, and He won't hide His will from you. SO ASK HIM! And don't be afraid to ask others to be praying with and for you as you seek guidance and direction from the Lord.

Sometimes an answer comes right away, within minutes or hours. Other times, a response is much longer in coming - days, weeks, months, and even years. Needless to say, that takes patience and perseverance, or we risk jumping ahead of God and His timing.

I just had one such instance in my own life - something I've prayed about for the past couple of years. I had shelved an entire part of my writing when I started praying, not wanting anything I put out into the world to be contrary to God's will for my writing. My gifts, talents, and such are His, not mine, and I didn't want to get ahead of God and do things in a way that might "seem right" to me. I don't need that kind of disaster in my life, thank you very much. (Prov. 14:12 & 16:25 are warning enough for me.)

A few weeks ago, He finally gave me the answer I've been asking for for so long. And the ideas THAT has generated have been wild and numerous. More inspiration than I ever imagined possible, and it all fits so beautifully.

God not only answers our questions, He does so in HIS time, not ours. So we must be patient and wait for His time for providing the answer we seek. BUT, we first must ask them. Too often, we don't even think to ask.

So ask! And be prepared to take a step or two or more in obedience when the answer comes. It may not be what you expect, or possibly even the path you believe you WANT, but be obedient. What the Lord provides is WAY better than anything you might imagine.

Is there some decision or need for direction that you've struggled with that you need to lay at the Lord's feet?

2 comments:

  1. Thanks for the encouragement to wait on God, Dawn. I've been praying about self-publishing versus traditional publishing for a while now. I haven't gotten an answer so I'll continue waiting and praying. Sometimes the patience we develop during the wait is what we need for the next step. Thanks for the reminder.

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    1. It really does pay to wait on Him and His timing. I've found that sometimes He delays because there are things not involving me that He needs to get into place (and it takes time to get other people ready). And sometimes there are things He wants me to learn while I wait - and that wait is to give me time to learn whatever it is or they are. So you might try adding a prayer to ask if there's something in particular He wants you to be learning while you wait. It could be just a matter of "not yet" for reasons that have nothing to do with you, but it never hurts to ask. He's very patient. :)

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