The big picture

Yesterday things had not turned out right. What seemed to make matters worse was that the Lord had given me a prophetic dream in October that the event would turn out just as it did yesterday. Sure, I had prayed. I waged spiritual warfare and enlisted others to pray with me. As the date approached I reminded the strongest prayer warrior I knew that the time was present for God to win the victory, and there was more agreement in prayer about the situation. And yet, it still turned out wrong.

This morning as I reviewed all the effort of prayer and faith that went in to the situation, I couldn’t help but admit to God that I was baffled. How was I to have faith that He would answer prayer in the future? Did I need to learn more about prayer? I felt so vulnerable to the enemy too. The picture I had in my mind seemed to tell me that satan won the victory after all.

The Lord was not silent to my musings over this matter. Quickly He brought to mind 2 separate prophecies in Isaiah where it states that the Lord was “appalled” that there was no one to help Him (59:16 & 63:5). “Helen,” He said, “If people do not obey Me, how is it surprising that they will not do the right thing for you? I do not blame you for being disappointed in Man, but do not be disappointed in Me. Trust my intentions, for they are good and not evil.” I immediately sensed that God’s justice would settle the right and wrong of the situation that took place yesterday, but the trial was also a test of trust on my part.

Once I agreed that God’s intentions were good my view of things began to change. The Lord talked to me about Joseph, sold into slavery by his brothers. God did not deliver him from the pit, nor from Potiphar’s wife. Yet God was shaping Joseph’s life into something far more valuable than the life he led back home. I was getting a glimpse of the bigger picture; God moves us in our trials, positioning us for our destiny. The small details that seem like set-backs are not obstacles to God’s will. However, our lack of trust in the goodness of God can cause us to grumble.

If you too believe that God will do according to your prayers you may have been surprised by some that seem unanswered. If things do not go well, you too may be tempted to doubt that God heard you, and that He cares about the outcome in your life. I want to encourage you that God is looking at the big picture. Take your eyes off the details and trust in Him to work all things out well. He cares very much about each one of us, so much that He will rearrange the lives of others, and our own, just to position us for our destiny. Amen