Just two weeks ago, I wrote about the potential dangers of the statement “I want” as it often leaves us further from God’s plans and toward a plan of our own that leaves Him out entirely. But there is another possibility, one that does not involve succumbing to our flesh and living outside God’s will but is about following God’s plan to a tee and still not getting what it seems you (and God) have been working toward.
Sometimes, us not getting what we want has less to do with a selfish pursuit or one that God has not sanctioned and more to do with the fact that there is simply better ahead. However, the discernment to know that there is better ahead and that not receiving what you thought was for you is not a punishment, but rather a blessing in disguise can only be acquired and truly sensed when we are led by faith with the understanding of the God we serve, the divine power He holds over all things, and the distinct fact that we are bound, not by our timing, but His.
My father taught a Sunday School lesson about detours and the finer point of the lesson is that the detours of our lives ultimately become our paths. Most importantly, what we perceive as a detour and disruption to what we expected is the natural order of things for God. In other words, what is a surprise to us is simply the next step for God and while we are surprised and fazed by the changes and opportunities we believed were for us, God is unfazed and has provisions for us if we can be patient and have faith. The detour takes us away from what we thought was next to something far greater. I will share with you a story (a somewhat long one) that is the reason I write to you and don’t want you to lose hope or faith in the path you are walking on.
As of about three months ago, I am a freelance editor and have launched a freelance service where I help people to strengthen their writing – be it a school paper, a personal work, etc. I had thought about doing it for quite some time, but my impetus for launching my business, aside from listening to the Spirit within me, was because of a discovery I made almost a year ago. About a year ago, I found a foundation that not only gave scholarships to editors, freelance and alike but that it was an organization for editors, by editors to be trained, equipped and for them to congregate once a year at a conference. I was so excited about the discovery I’d made and I applied for the scholarship with much prayer and excitement because I just knew this was God. A month later, I heard back that I was a finalist and there, I thought, is God again. So, then there was just one more round standing between me and the scholarship and the adjudication of me as an editor with it. Except while I did complete the task to the best of my ability, I did not get the scholarship. My application was “impressive” (their words) and I’m an “exceptional achiever” (their words) but somehow, despite all my glory, I didn’t get the scholarship.
Maybe two years ago, I would’ve taken this personally and I would’ve even cried and asked God why I didn’t get this scholarship and I probably would’ve had a pity party, but this time I did none of those things. I was disappointed for a moment but then I was reminded of a song by Bebe Winans, “He’s Got Better Things for You” and my Spirit was lifted because I realized that this was not a rejection, but an opportunity for me to exercise faith and trust in God’s plan and the fact that there is better ahead. I did not get the scholarship I was so sure was for me, but finding this organization and applying for this scholarship inspired me to do something I had put off for months, something I didn’t really ever think I could or would do. I did not get the scholarship, but I have gained so much in the process – stronger faith, a realization of something else I love, and most importantly, a way to serve God’s people while doing a newfound passion and love – editing. It is because of all I have gained in the process that I know this isn’t the end, that I know God is leading me to something bigger, to something better, and to something from Him that, at the appointed time, I will recognize and be ready to receive.
God will lead us to something to see how strong our faith is and if we are willing to follow and trust Him, and to see if praise will remain on our lips even when we reach what we perceive as an impasse or merely, disappointment.
Believe me when I say I know the feeling of having your heart set on something and even believing that God has it for you and then, you don’t get it. That is not the ending, but the beginning and the ending depends on you, the strength of your faith, and your ability to assess what God is trying to tell you through this experience. Are you being rejected or does He have better for you ahead? Is He abandoning us or equipping us for “exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us”? (Ephesians 3:20)
