I am sure that you have been in a situation where you are trying to get something to work. You have limited time. The harder you try the more it fails. The frustration can get so high, you may even get angry at God.
I have needed to get some color copies and since I don’t have that capability I needed to go into to town to do it. I have been so busy working I have not had time to run into town. Then I remembered that there is one of the places in town where you can order copies online and then go pick it up. I went to the sight and tried to log into my account. That is when the trouble began. It told me I wasn’t me. No matter how many times I checked what I had typed in to make sure I had typed it right, it reject my info. So I clicked forgot password. I was sent a link and then I changed my password and tried to log in. Same problem, I didn’t exist. I finally went to bed.
The next morning, I was finally able to log in. I electronically uploaded what I wanted printed, made all the choices I wanted, put in a discount that was available and submitted my order, at least I tried. Again I had problems it wouldn’t let me choose my store location and when I finally got that to work I hit the submit button and it did nothing. Talk about frustration I was frustrated. I kept saying, “Lord, please make this work, why aren’t you allowing this to work?” It seemed that I was being told, “You don’t want it to work” but I was ignoring that, I was so desperate. I finally gave up and went to work.
I learned a couple of days ago that I was getting close to my 40 hours at work and we are not supposed to do any overtime. So I was able to get off work early. I went into town to the store that I had been trying to make copies online through. They were the least expensive I could find. I went to the self-serve copy machine and proceeded to make my copies. I started with just making one color copy so I could make sure it was okay. When the copy came out I could not be believe my eyes, it was terrible quality. I can’t describe how I felt at that moment. Earlier in the week I had gone and got a sample done at one place. They were more expensive but the quality was good. So I ended up going back to where I had been before and got better quality. The fact is, you get what you pay for.
What really hit me is the fact that I had spent more than an hour, collectively, trying to order the copies online and it was not working. I realized that God was preventing me from making that mistake. God is so merciful and gracious. I was really frustrated that He was not answering my prayer. Here He knew how desperately I needed these done but He was not helping. When in reality He was but I just couldn’t see it until later. Gratefully, God is a God of forgiveness.
Why is it so difficult for us to trust God? He knows the end from the beginning so He would know more than we can possibly know. When we let Him have control we have to let go of control and it is a difficult thing to do. Somehow we feel we can’t make it unless we are in control of everything. I have learned some valuable lessons through this experience. One thing I have learned is that God is a God of love. We may make a mistake but He is not standing over our heads saying, “I told you so!” He just wants to reconnect with us. Instead of wallowing in self-pity I just asked the Lord to forgive me and moved on. And I pray that next time I will be more willing to listen.
Dear Father,
Forgive me for no trusting Your ways. Thank You for Your love and forgiveness. Thank You for stopping me even though I persisted in my own way. You were so gracious.
In Jesus Name,
Amen
Remember to listen to the still small voice. Let God lead and don’t get frustrated. But if you fail remember God is a forgiving and loving God.
Love you all.
Have you ever had an experience where you listened or did not listen to God’s still small voice? What was the outcome? I would love to hear your story.