Thank God for Unanswered Prayer



So the Lord said to Moses, “Go in, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the people of Israel
 go out of his land.”  But Moses said to the Lord, “Behold, the people of Israel have not listened to me. How then shall Pharaoh listen to me, for I am of uncircumcised lips?”  But the Lord 
spoke to Moses and Aaron and gave them a charge about the people of Israel and about Pharaoh king of Egypt: to bring the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt.
Exodus 6:10-13



I find this portion of Scripture so interesting.  God's interaction with Moses reminds me very much of a father speaking to a child who might be saying "But daddy, it's too hard for me to pick up all my toys!"  And the father calmly but firmly saying, I know you can do it, now go on, pick up those toys."

The Lord's ultimate will for the people of Israel was to bring them safely to the land of Canaan - and to prepare them for their arrival.  The only way they would become a prepared people was through the trials of the wilderness where their obedience and trust in the Lord would be tested...

...My husband and I are currently in the middle of MAJOR home improvements which you can read about here, and can I tell you, I am not cut out for this!  Oh my!  There isn't a space inside or outside that is not in total chaos.

You know how it goes, you start a project that you think will be small and it ends up being huge!  True story for this girl right here!

We needed to replace our tub and shower unit as the tub had developed a crack.  Our son-in-law helped my husband take out the old one and put in the new one.  Except for a few hiccups along the way, that went fairly smoothly.   We were also going to redo our floors with tile and bought a new vanity to replace the old one.

Well, I have had wainscoting in the bathroom for years and years, but we all had grown tired of it and decided to take it down and repaint the walls.  Unfortunately, taking the wainscoting off ended up ripping holes all over the lower two-thirds of the sheetrock - too many to repair individually.  My husband then had to cut out the lower two-thirds of the bathroom walls at which time we discovered that the insulation on the outside wall was covered in mold!  As a result, the upper sheetrock had to be removed so that new insulation could be placed properly into the studs as it couldn't just be stuffed up.  Did I mention we only have one bathroom!  

Once the tiling commenced we had to remove the toilet as well.  So basically, what started out as a few improvements ended up indeed being a total gut job!  Three weeks later, and I still have the vanity box sitting in my kitchen with no sink in the bathroom.  We finally  have a shower and toilet in operation again, but the walls are still causing delays...

I see a parallel lesson here between the Israelites in the wilderness and the wilderness that is our bathroom.

The unhealthy mold would never have been discovered had we not gone ahead and done the extra work to remove the wainscoting.  We definitely could have taken the easy route, even though the signs of mold were always there as every summer I could smell it, but always assumed it was the dog days of August creating the problem outside...  So I chose to ignore it...

Wilderness moments have a way of exposing our sin, don't they.  

The way we handle trials can speak volumes about our spiritual health,  Do we lash out?  Do we become bitter?  Do we complain?  Do we blame?  Do we become angry?  Do we handle the trial in our own strength?  

And so the Lord tested the Israelites in the wilderness - testing their obedience to the commands He had set forth AND testing whether or not they would trust HIM to provide for them.

When we experience any kind of trial, the Lord is testing us in the same way, to see if we will be obedient to His Word and to see whether we will trust Him to provide whatever is needed in that situation according to His perfect will.

We can't ignore our sin problem.  Imagine if my husband and I had known about the moldy insulation and just covered it up with new sheetrock!  It would have continued to spread and infect the rest of the walls.

In the same way, it is not wise to cover up our sin because even one tiny.. little... sin will lead to another and another and before you know it, we will backslide and be in a very sad state...   We need to expose our sin the moment we become aware of it, confess it to the Lord Jesus and turn away from it.

I'm sure we have all found ourselves in situations or you might be in the midst of one right now that you have been praying about for a long time, possibly even years, but no answer has come yet...

Often, the only way the Lord has chosen to accomplish His will in our lives is to take us through the wilderness, but take heart! - like the Israelites, He doesn't send us on our way with a wave and good wishes.  HE IS RIGHT THERE WITH US EVERY STEP OF THE WAY!

Be encouraged, that unanswered prayer is preparing you for your own personal Canaan here on earth where you will experience great joy when you see what the Lord has done, and ultimately, for your Heavenly reward seated with Christ in Heaven.  

In the meantime, while you are in the wilderness, commune with your Traveling Companion often; memorialize all the times He has provided for you on the journey and finally, ...  Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,  for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.  And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.  James 1:1-4


Sometimes I thank God for unanswered prayers
Remember when you're talkin' to the man upstairs
That just because he may not answer doesn't mean he don't care
Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered

Some of God's greatest gifts are all too often unanswered...
Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers
Garth Brooks

You might find me on these link-ups:
Grace & Truth Link-upWoman to Woman Ministries, Inspire Me MondayA Wise Women Builds Her HomeSpiritual Sundays, Soul Survival,  Good Morning MondaysTell His StoryFaith & Fellowship Blog Hop  Tuesday Talk   Faith 'N Friends Sitting Among Friends   House to Home  ,Wonderful Wednesday , Literacy Musings Mondays,Imparting GraceDance with Jesus Booknificent Thursdays  Fresh Market Friday Moments of Hope Wonderful Wednesdays , Tea & Word Tuesday Heart Encouragement Thursday Hearts for Home Messy Marriage Link-up Friday at the Fire Station Link-up Tune In Thursday Faith on Fire Link-upSunday Scripture Blessings Link-up, Sunday ThoughtsWriter Wednesday, Faith Filled Friday God Sized Dreams Link-Up Sitting Among Friends Be Thee Inspired 

Comments

  1. So true - and I love the remodel story - we did it for 13 years... still married. I have a whole retreat series as a result - so keep track of these lessons! Love it that mold was found. I don't want mold but I don't always love the process of finding it and getting rid of it! Blessings, Karen!

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    Replies
    1. Hi Sue, Lol. I like your sense of humor. It does test a relationship doesn't it? lol.

      Indeed!

      Thanks so much for stopping by.

      Blessings to you too!

      Delete
  2. Hi Karen, I love the parallels you find here between the wilderness and the bathroom :) I so do not appreciate the wilderness though. Although having said that, it has always exposed the not so nice, so that I can enjoy the much nicer later. Great post
    God bless
    Tracy

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    Replies
    1. Hi Tracy, So true. It seems that the greatest joys we experience are those that come after being in the wilderness.

      Thank you! :-)

      Blessings,

      Delete
  3. Oh, I can relate to these wilderness days, and the uncovering that happens there! Just when I think that the Lord has finally gotten to the last root, He uncovers another rock and shows me what lies underneath that one! Ouch. But He is so gentle to help us on the way to renewal, isn't He? I am praying for you today, that your bathroom will soon be restored as well!

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    Replies
    1. Hi Bettie, Thank you so much for sharing your insights here and adding to the conversation. I soo appreciate it! :-)

      Our bathroom is officially done. I just have the fun part left - decorating! :-D

      Blessings,

      Delete
  4. Visiting from Meg's linkup. I'm currently writing a book "31 Days of Praying Psalm 91" a psalm of Moses - so Moses and I have become really good friends through research and reading!!! We win in the end friend!!!

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    Replies
    1. Hi Susan,

      Indeed we do! Love it!

      I am reading in the book of Exodus now and I am so taken with the life of Moses and His relationship with the Lord. Truly showcasing what a friend we in our Lord.

      Sounds like your book will be a wonderful read!

      Thanks for stopping by. :-)

      Delete
  5. Great analogy. Covering mold with a new coat of paint or fresh sheetrock doesn't solve the problem. And covering sin with good works will never work either. We may look good on the outside to others, but God sees our heart and loves us enough not to let us continue in a state that will eventually have devastating consequences. It's often messy and time consuming, but thank goodness that God doesn't stop renovating our lives!

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    Replies
    1. Hi Karen, Thank you.

      Great insight, "Cover sin with good works will never work either". Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts and adding to the conversation. I very much appreciate it! :-)

      Delete
  6. Great post, I confer with this I have what seems to be unanswered prayer regarding healing of the physical body but emotionally & spiritually there is so much healing going on...praise Him!
    You're most welcome to drop by with your favorite beverage for a time of reflection together.
    Jennifer

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Jennifer, Thank you.

      Thank you so much for sharing your story here. Rejoicing with you in how the Lord is healing you and praying with you that the prayers for healing of your physical body will be answered.

      Blessings,

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  7. I'm glad you found the mold and got rid of it! It can be bad.

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  8. Replies
    1. Hi JD Lana,

      Thank you.

      And thanks for stopping by.

      Delete
  9. It's so true that some of God's greatest gifts are his wise and loving "no's" to us. If only we could keep that in mind when things don't go as we expect!

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    Replies
    1. Hi Michele, You are absolutely right. Easier said then done.

      Praising God that it's ALL going to work out in the end. :-)

      Thanks for stopping by.

      Delete
  10. This is so encouraging! Thanks for sharing this at Booknificent Thursday on Mommynificent.com!
    Tina

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    Replies
    1. Hi Tina, I'm glad you found encouragement here. :-)

      You are very welcome!

      Happy Easter!

      Delete
  11. Oh boy! I feel your pain. My hubby and I often joke that our marriage almost severed over floor installation! Lol I laugh now, but it was not a fun time in our marriage!
    Great correlation! Sometimes our best yes, is found in His loving no.
    Thanks for this reminder!

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    Replies
    1. Hi Rachel, Yes, it is indeed a test!

      Thank you.

      You are very welcome!

      Happy Easter!

      Delete
  12. We do discover unforeseen things below the surface and often only because of inconvenience! The mold story really hit home for me because we moved into a new to us home 3.5 years ago and shortly thereafter began getting progressively sicker and sicker. It was awful. After 1.5 years we discovered the house was infested with toxic black mold! It was a long process, but we are almost completely healthy these days. I'm so glad you found yours and got it taken care of. It can be so dangerous!!!

    Thanks so much for joining me in sharing hope, Karen! You are a blessing!

    Lori

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    Replies
    1. Hi Lori, I think I remember you telling about your experience once before and in fact, I thought of you when we discovered the mold in our bathroom. Thankfully, ours wasn't the dangerous kind, but I'm still so glad it is out of there!

      You are very welcome. Thank you for hosting!

      Your words humble and bless me.

      Blessings to you and Happy Easter!

      Delete

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