A Journey

When you pray for something to happen in your life, you begin a journey for yourself.  Many people quit their journeys before they are complete.  Why?  Because they become impatient and frustrated that there even is a journey.

Think of a board game – like Chutes and Ladders.  There is a start and there is a finish.  But there are a lot of spaces in between.  Sometimes you get a really good roll and move way ahead only to find that at your next turn you land on a space that sends you back to start.  When playing a board game though, you just roll and again, confident you can catch back up.  Unfortunately in life, we often see those backward moving times as an opportunity to just give up and admit defeat. 

People who don’t give up and finish the game are people who rely on God.  Through your prayer time, gut feelings, and even words from other people, God has given you dreams.  A dream can seem overwhelming and impossible to achieve.  And often when you do make some progress, you suddenly land on a space that sends you back to the beginning.

Failures in our own strength keep us focused on relying on God

When you are praying for something specific in your life, most likely the journey is going to be a path that includes frequent failures.  HOWEVER, failures are ALWAYS followed by a growth spurt – one in which you will grow closer to God and see that his hand has been guiding your path all along. 

God uses temporary set-backs to remind you not to lose focus on Him.  Without him you will lose the game.

Keep on praying for that specific thing you want to accomplish.  Find a scripture to pray over and over.  Have faith it will happen in God’s time.  But most important….don’t lose faith or drop out of the game at the first failure or frustration.  Let the frustrations in life bring out the best in you, not the worst.