You have prayed. You have asked your friends to pray. You would wear sackcloth and ashes in the streets of your neighborhood if it meant you would experience a breakthrough in a request you made to God so long ago.
“How long, Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, ‘Violence!’ but you do not save?” — Habakkuk 1:2, NIV
Now, at this point, you can’t help but feel doubt. You begin to wonder if the cynics and critics are right — that the Christian walk can be summed up as an emotional crutch for the weak and unfortunate, and that only the lucky and strong survive.
If this is your experience, I have one comment: Do not give up.
After all, if this world is just for the lucky and strong, how do you explain the advances and positive turn of events experienced by the children, young adults, mothers and families we serve? Do their successes come merely by chance, or are they the result of your prayers, commitment and reliance on Christ?
Just read the Bible and you will find saints, prophets and leaders asking the same questions as you are asking: Where is God and why hasn’t He answered me?
Whether it’s David, Job, Naomi or Habakkuk, almost every character in the Bible encountered, at one time or another, fear, confusion and uncertainty when it came to their faith. So you are not alone.
However, don’t make the mistake of judging God because you haven’t seen His work in action. Remember, crying out to Him about your pain is not a lack of faith, but denying that He cares and is working for you is.
For those of you who are tired from the load of your circumstance, I invite you to read the book of Habakkuk, especially chapter 2, where the prophet says, “I will stand at my watch … I will look to see what he will say to me. … For the revelation awaits an appointed time.” [1]
God hasn’t given up on you. So don’t give up on Him. Wait on Him and on His appointed time.
1. Habakkuk 2:1-3 (NIV)
10 Comments |Add a comment
Thank you. These are the exact feelings I have been filled with. I have stood in my bathroom so my children wouldn’t hear, as tears poured down my face, and I cried out to God. And through your post and His words to me in the Bible, He is reassuring me that He does love me. He is still here. I need to be patient, and faithful.
Thank you!
Lamentations 3:21- “Yet still I dare to hope when I remember this: the faithful love of the Lord never ends.”
Katie
I loved reading this, thank you for posting it.
This is exactly where i’m at right now in my life. Thank you for the encouraging word!
Thank for this. God is repeating this message to me right now. We’re about to expand our ministry, the finances aren’t there yet, and God is asking us to step out in faith. And when the doubts creep in, you write this, our church is studying the book of Ruth, and I’m reading Hebrews. Stay strong and believe! God, I am listening.
We have prayed. We have asked family and friends to pray. Not only would wear I sackcloth and ashes in the streets of our neighborhood, but I would shave my head as well, if it meant we would experience a breakthrough in a request we made to God what seems so long ago.
I appreciate your article. It is definitely a timely and relevant message. It encouraged me. Thanks!
Thank you for your timely word! Blessings to you…
“And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.” Galatians 6:9
It is in the winter season when the snow is covering the ground, when daily activities are a fight against the cold, and we can’t see the seeds opening and life being to grow, that we find it the hardest to believe in the harvest. These are the times that faith becomes more real, as we hope in things unseen. Yet God is always faithful and we will reap what we sow.
Thank you for sharing this…sometimes in the trials I go through, and especially the trials I see my family go through, its tough to handle. But God is always faithful, and He is always loving. It helps to remember that God is always working, even if its behind the scenes where I can’t see it (YET!)