answered prayers

When I pray for something, when my heart is really in it and I earnestly seek God, seek His wisdom, lay my desires at His feet and just want clarity on my next step...when I do all that I KNOW God will answer, I never doubt that. It's how He answers that I don't know or more importantly when and what He'll say. Guess that's the patience part.

When I need to make a tough decision, I wait for the calm I feel in the eye of the storm. That inner peace of knowing regardless of what it looks like on the outside, regardless of what anyone else says, I know the decision is the right one. It's not about what feels right, or what looks right, or even what I think is right, it's about that calm that I know comes only from God.

Today I woke with more peace than I've felt in a very long time, the calm has arrived. It's been coming, little by little, I've gotten more clarity and started to understand what the answer was going to be. Others were telling me their opinions, all of which I shared their desires, none of which I felt in my heart was the answer. They said go, my heart said wait. And then...it happened. It's interesting to me how God answers my prayers in ways I don't expect and usually involve some sort of heartache. Every decision we make means we said yes to something and no to something. Every time. Sometimes, as in this particular case, the yes and no both bring a little sadness and a lot of relief.

The answer isn't the one I'd hoped for, yet exactly what I'd prayed for. Lord, please show me what to do, if I'm not moving in the right direction please make that clear...and He did. We need to remember that just because we don't get the answer we want doesn't mean we don't get answers. We also need to remember that when we don't get the answer we want, it wasn't what is best and though it hurts for a moment, God has something MUCH better in mind.

Today my clarity is here, my calm in the eye of the storm. It brings disappointment, but it also brings freedom. I no longer wonder. I now longer need to stress over it. I no longer need to talk about it. "I was blind and now I see"....yep, now I see.

I thank God for answered prayers that come in out loud and outrageous ways. I also thank God for answered prayers that come in the form of no because that means yes to something else.