Why Hasn’t It Happened to Me Yet?
Why Hasn’t It Happened To Me Yet? : Perception vs. Reality
Waiting on God to answer a prayer? Wondering why He hasn’t restored you from a painful experience?
Join the crowd.
I have no doubt we all are waiting on God to answer a prayer or restore us and it can get frustrating when you feel it has been a long wait. You start questioning if He hears you, will ever do it for you and if He even cares.
Understandable.
When we are waiting we can sometimes feel like God is absent in our lives, when in reality, He never left.
Today, let’s talk about how we are probably feeling during the wait versus what God is doing.
- Silent Season
- There have been times that I’ve asked God multiple times for a particular outcome or desire. I asked and I asked. I prayed and I prayed. Yet; nothing. It started to make me feel as if God wasn’t listening or didn’t care. I was struggling. I was suffering. Yet; I kept thinking, “Where are you, God?” I felt like I wasn’t being heard nor guided. I was in the season by myself and God was silent.
Psalm 69:3 “I’m worn out from calling for help. My throat is very dry. My eyes grow tired looking for my God.”
2. Wilderness Season
- Anytime I found myself in the “silent season”, I felt the need to take steps on my own to fix the issue. I’m a solutions person. A fixer. A take-action type of woman. I thought that maybe God was just waiting on me to take a leap of faith and He would meet me where I leaped. However, I felt ill-guided and lost. I found myself asking others, “How do I know what to do?” or having conversations surrounding the idea that I was lost. It was frustrating because I desired to do God’s will and listen attentively, but He wasn’t saying anything. So, not only did I feel He was silent, but amid the silence, I also felt left in the wilderness with no direction.
- Isaiah 41:10 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
3. Giving Up Season
- After the Silent Season and Wilderness Season; I give up. I start to think that maybe it was not God’s will for my desire to come to fruition. I start to think that maybe it will be a long time before my desire will come to pass and I let it go and also let go of my desire. I don’t like the feeling of emptiness or a hole in my life due to a lack of a desire being filled that’s not. So; I forget the desire and stop asking God for it, I accept that it just won’t happen and move on.
Psalm 37:7 “Be still in the presence of the LORD, and wait patiently for him to act.”
These are the usual steps I take when I am waiting on God. All three are seasons you can see within the Bible that multiple people go through and experience similar feelings. However, in each story, you will see later what God was doing. The reality of it all.
- He’s Not Being Silent. He is Preparing
- In silent seasons God is usually very active. He is preparing you and most of all preparing that desire or place of the desire. I can remember desiring to possibly start teaching online. I asked, but I was denied. I decided to still teach for the school and a couple of months later, I decided to move due to a life change. One week I was out of work and I vividly remember God telling me, “Ask them to let you teach online when you leave.” I didn’t have the courage but I asked anyways. Little did I know that my superior supervisor had brought up the option of me teaching online the first time I applied, however, my immediate supervisor didn’t want me to. However, at this time, I had a new immediate supervisor and she was all for it. I had to wait until the former supervisor left and be replaced for God to answer it. God is preparing the place for you. Don’t move too quickly and miss your blessing and/or go out of His timing to receive your blessing. That is a major mistake. Be patient. He is preparing the place for you and He is also preparing you to be ready to receive it.
John 14:3 “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”
2. You aren’t Lost. The Enemy Is Trying to Distract You.
- When we are lost, we did look for guidance in places outside of God. Instead of waiting, we tend to feel the need to take care of ourselves and make it happen for ourselves. This is very risky. Usually, the enemy will bring in a counterfeit blessing. It will look similar to what you desire but it’s not. But; it fulfills the desire you have enough to satisfy you temporarily. The problem? You are delaying the real desire you have as well as will possibly miss it. Just wait! You want what you desire correct? Don’t allow a waiting season to trick you into a distracted and bewildered season.
James 1:14 “But each one is tempted when he is dragged away, enticed and baited [to commit sin] by his own [worldly] desire (lust, passion).”
3. You aren’t just giving up. You have lost hope.
- Hope is a place of losing faith in something. Faith that it will happen. Faith that there will be a positive outcome. Faith that you can trust the situation to turn out for your good. When we give up we are telling God we don’t trust Him and that He won’t fulfill His promises. Now, sometimes there are desires that we need to let go of due to them not being God’s will and/or because we never had the right intentions behind the request. But, you can be prayerful about this and God will reveal His truth. If it has been spoken that it is permissive in His will; don’t give up on what you’ve asked for! If you give up then you won’t be able to recognize when God has brought you the desire. The enemy wants you to give up because He knows the glory that will come from God answering the prayer. He will do it. He will provide. Trust His will and trust His timing.
Isaiah 49:23 “Then you will know that I am the Lord; those who hope in me will not be disappointed.”
I hope by you seeing the reality of your waiting season you can keep pressing on and trusting God in His process of fulfillment. I recommend reading the story of Sarah & Abraham as well as Joseph. They are good examples of waiting on God and you will see several instances where they went through the seasons I mentioned above. God gives us His word to give us hope in our seasons of waiting. He knew we would have these seasons and wanted to provide us with stories of hope. Stay hopeful. He will bring your desires to fulfillment. Don’t miss it.
Ecclesiastes 1: 9 “…What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which one can say, “Look! This is something new”?”
Isaiah 43: 18-20 “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?”
With Love,
Chloe M. Gooden
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