“A lot of unnoticeable stuff is going on like heating, cooling, electrical, wrapping the outside in waterproofing material – all necessary in order for the next step to happen. It just doesn’t look like much is happening.” Sharon Dyer
I had the privilege of reconnecting in person with my aunt this summer. Her family is undergoing a house renovation and she has been texting my mom, sister and me pictures of the progress. It’s neat to see how the house went from demolition stage this past August to getting all the innards accomplished before they will finish the construction of the walls, drywall, etc.
We had the above conversation while I was in the midst of my fasting period this past September. Our family was in the midst of a “prison” and I was silently questioning whether or not the promises I thought I had heard from God were indeed real or if I had just imagined Him speaking to me… because nothing was happening. I thought I had heard God speak that He would answer a specific prayer that began September 2015 by February 2017. It was now September 2017 and while He continued to offer encouragement, I saw no movement in that direction and was questioning if I had received the wrong memo. Maybe that memo was for someone else…
Then my aunt sent the above explanation in an email and God reminded me that even though I can’t see how He’s working… He’s working behind the scenes, getting everything ready so He can answer the prayer in His time. And that offered me encouragement.
I have heard a lot of silence this fall… but also been given encouragement at times to keep going. God knows what we need… and faith isn’t faith when we see the road ahead. True faith is continuing to believe even though it appears as though nothing is progressing. As I mentioned in an earlier post, God tends to give me encouragement before I need it… and He had encouraged me to believe this fall.
He kew I would have moments of disbelief. That people would question whether or not I had truly heard God correctly. That I would wonder if God had forgotten about us and if things were truly going to change or not. Then He sent me the above email and I was encouraged yet again. God was still working. He was still lining things up so that when the time was right, when we were prepared for the next step, everything behind the scenes would be ready and waiting for His word.
I was encouraged to continue to believe God was working… and when He decides to reveal the full answer to the prayer I’ve been praying since September 2015, I will shout from the mountaintops and give Him all the glory. I love how God still speaks even when we can’t see all the work taking place behind the scenes.
© Cheri Swalwell 2017
Another gem.