My mom used to tell me, God answers prayers in one of three ways: yes, no or use your resources. My mom is quite a creative woman. I was the kind of kid who would find out about the upcoming science project, store that away for weeks and then spring it on my mom the night before it was due, thru tears of course…pleading for her to help me. And without fail, by 8 am the next morning, i had something to proudly take into class. She could make anything from anything…she used her resources.
God is the same way. Yes, he moves in miraculous ways and gives confirmation at times to reassure us that we heard His voice correctly in answering our prayers…but sometimes, God simply wants us to go ahead and use what we already have. In the same way that my mom would take tennis balls, golf balls, and ping pong balls to make the planets of the solar system…God simply wants us to look around…what do we already have that can be used for His glory??
I started thinking of this the other day when Kathy and Mark Lucas, a couple from North Carolina who Seth invited down to talk with us, reminded us what God asked Moses to use to do His will. Exodus 4 reads like this:
Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The LORD did not appear to you’?”
Then the LORD said to him, “What is that in your hand?”
“A staff,” he replied.
the LORD said, “Throw it on the ground.”
Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it. Then the LORD said to him, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail.” So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand.
It was this very staff that Moses raised over the Red Sea to part it. It was that very staff that essentially played one of the vitalest roles in the Isrealites escaping slavery. A gnarly, crooked wooden staff (that’s what i picture in my imagination)…something that Moses probably had had for years…something that was so familiar to Moses that he probably wasn’t even aware that he was holding it when God asked what was in his hands…that is what God used!
So the question i am left with is this: What is right in front of me that God wants me to use to accomplish His work?? What are you holding right now that God can use??
God does answer prayers. He is a relational God; He doesnt desire for His people to be confused or frustrated. But being open to how God might answer those prayers is essential. He can say yes…He can say no…or may just say use what your momma gave you 🙂
