God had given us a moment together. We earnestly prayed for a genuine need. There was no audience but God. (I guess as always, He is not about the business of embarrassing His kids.) We placed the situation in God's hands trusting He would deliver. In prayer we asked God for the obvious - “Lord, Please let the employer not fire the employee. Please allow ______ to keep his job. We will trust you with this situation knowing that You alone know what is ahead and what is best … in Jesus' Name, Amen!” And we both left the moment feeling God would take care of the situation.
My brother was worried that he would lose his job, and in the story of his tenure he had reason to feel this way due to past blemishes on his record. But this was a new day, he was trying to walk honestly before man and His God. Although in times past he was labeled negatively, the new crew he was working with thought of him as “the best.” Once he may have tried to cover up the incident, but this time he would be honest, report it, risk termination, and trust God's mercy to deliver Him. He was going to do right no matter what.
I Peter 2:12 – “Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.”
I received a text mid-week that went something like this “Thanks for praying with me Sunday Night, they let me go but it is okay, I will be all right.” My heart sank and tears came for my brother. I felt a little bit disappointed that God had not done exactly what we had asked (… except for the reluctant, carefully chosen words that committed us to the thought of being "okay" with termination... if that was what God wanted). Although we know that better things are ahead, right now the silence of the moment is killing me.
I Peter 2:19 – 20 “For this is thank worthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. For what glory is it if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? But if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.”
Under the pressure of the church congregation, we do our best to appear spiritually content with the decisions made about us and our brethren. We try to keep a Godly "stiff upper lip," although our spirit is broken, scarred, and scared. This is the moment that we feared would come, and now it has. Are we to be quiet when there is so much noise and turbulence in our souls? Will we find Him patient with us while we do our best to try and work through this moment of human mess we call “I'm okay?!”
The facts are thrown in our face by our adversary “You prayed he would keep his job, and he lost it!”
“What power is there in prayer if it “always” goes this way?”
These seething words always seem to hiss from the depths of Hell trying to alienate us from God who truly loves us, from the God Who stands, waiting at an open door. If we stay close to Jesus, even in disappointment, we will find Him already opening the way before us. He is not silent … we are not fully listening. Listen and we will hear and be refreshed!
“Why art thou cast down, O my soul? And why art thou disquieted in me? Hope thou in God; for I shall yet praise Him for the help of his countenance.” Psalm 42:5
“Why art thou cast down, O my soul? And why art thou disquieted in me? Hope thou in God; for I shall yet praise Him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God. “ Psalm 42:11
My hope, His help, My health, My God! I shall yet praise Him! Silence... I'm listening.
HLFA,
Jeff