What happens if God doesn’t keep His promises?

You’re at work and you know you’re a good employee. You’re always on time. You always encourage teamwork. You don’t cause drama. You’re the kind of employee you would want to hire if you were a manager.

Then, one day, your boss lets it slip that the company is going to do something really nice for its top performers. If you’ve ever been there, I bet you imagine what that “something nice” is going to be. You fantasize about it. A bonus? Or maybe an extra vacation day?

Have you ever gotten what you imagined? That’s never happened to me. I imagine “something nice” as something awesome. And usually it turns out to be something like a gift card. (Not knocking gift cards. Gift cards are the best, especially when they aren’t part of your salary.) But in those moments, are you ever disappointed that your company’s “something nice” didn’t match up to yours? Do you get upset at your boss because he or she didn’t meet your expectations?

Today’s verses are Ephesians 3:17-20.

Evergreen tree in the snow at Safe Haven Farm, Haven, KS

Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.

There’s a contingent of Bible thumpers out there who love to expound on how God will give you a car or how God will make all your dreams come true, and it’s not that God won’t do those things … it’s just that He doesn’t promise them.

I’ve known people over the years who have believed with their whole heart that God would give them something specific. A specific job. A specific boyfriend. A specific house. A specific outcome in their life. They’ve claimed it would happen and believed with everything they had that it would.

And it didn’t happen.

Ouch. What do you do when God doesn’t deliver on His promises?

Well, the first thing you need to do is make sure He actually promised it. Like the situation at work–my boss didn’t say the company was going to give me an extra day off. My boss didn’t say the company was going to give me a bonus check. That was my assumption. That was my definition of “something nice” and it didn’t match what the company had in mind.

So many Christ-followers end up discouraged in their walk with God because He hasn’t given them what they think He should. And I can understand their feelings. I’ve been there. Where I was sure God was leading me in a specific direction, where I was certain what He was doing in my life–and then He does a complete 180. And my life ends up looking nothing like what I expected.

And when that happens, it’s really easy to take it out on God. We can be so sure we know what He’s doing, can’t we? And in those moments, it’s so easy to get ahead of Him, to assume He’s going to do something in our life just because we feel a sense of peace about it. But just because you feel a sense of peace about a particular outcome in your life doesn’t make it a promise that God is bound to keep.

God’s promises are set down in the Bible. He’s promised to never leave us. He’s promised to save us. He’s promised to make us a part of His family, to forgive us our sins and remember them no more, to love us unconditionally, to help us when we need it. He has promised to do what we ask and to give us the desires of our heart, yes, but our hearts have to match His before that will happen. And we have to understand that if He doesn’t give us what we want, that doesn’t mean God is unfaithful. It just means it isn’t time yet.

The Bible doesn’t tell us specifically how our lives are going to work out. All God promises us is that He’s working things out for our good and His glory.

Don’t get caught in the trap of putting God in a box, because that’s what we do when we tell God He’s unfaithful or untrustworthy. Maybe you feel like God has betrayed you. Well, friend, He hasn’t. It’s you who doesn’t understand how He works. And if you give God a little space, let Him work in your life the way He wants, and keep trusting Him even when you don’t see how things will work out, one day you’ll realize that He has answered every promise He’s made to you and more.

So when something you want–something you think God has promised you–doesn’t work out, don’t get upset. And please, please don’t get angry at God. God doesn’t have to operate inside the box we build for Him, and I’m so thankful He doesn’t. Imagine how lackluster and mediocre life would be if God were limited to our expectations.

No. Our God is a big God, an all-powerful God, and a gracious, generous God, eager to shower blessings on His children. And if you expect Him to operate within the walls of your planning and your imagination, you’re going to live a disappointed life.

So let go. Let God be God. Stop trying to control Him. Stop trying to squeeze Him into a box with your own limitations. And then sit back and enjoy the ride.

God’s blessings don’t always feel like blessings

It rained last night. In June I wouldn’t have been so happy about it, but last night wasn’t bad. In June, I didn’t want to see another drop of rain.

I wish I would have found today’s passage back then.

Storms rolling into Reno County at Safe Haven Farm, Haven, KS

Today’s verses are Joel 2:21-23.

Don’t be afraid, my people.
Be glad now and rejoice,
for the Lord has done great things.
Don’t be afraid, you animals of the field,
for the wilderness pastures will soon be green.
The trees will again be filled with fruit;
fig trees and grapevines will be loaded down once more.
Rejoice, you people of Jerusalem!
Rejoice in the Lord your God!
For the rain he sends demonstrates his faithfulness.
Once more the autumn rains will come,
as well as the rains of spring.

Throughout the Bible, God uses different aspects of nature and different circumstances in our lives to communicate with us. He has control over both, so what better means to demonstrate not only His power but His love?

I enjoyed the rain last night, although driving home in some of the heavier spots was a little nerve wracking. The rain was nice. It was refreshing. But I can tell you if I had seen last night’s storm back in June, I wouldn’t have been so happy about it. We were already soaked in Kansas, and we didn’t need any more rain. But it just kept coming.

I was so tired of the rain, so tired of having to clean up my basement after it leaked, so tired of being worried that the whole place was going to flood while I was gone and tired of worrying that my roads would wash out and prevent me from getting home in the first place. And I just didn’t understand why God was allowing us to flood like that.

But the more I thought about it, the more I talked to God about how frustrated I was, the more He reminded me that He wasn’t trying to cause trouble. He was preventing trouble.

Kansas had been in a drought for like three years. Maybe longer. And honestly even though we got more than enough rain, I’m not sure if our “levels” are back up to where they need to be. but as an agricultural state, it’s not good for us to turn into a desert. The rain was a good thing. It was inconvenient and troublesome, but that was because I was worried about it. And I shouldn’t have been.

See, the rain during that time was a blessing. It was a gift from God. Without that rain, I’m not sure what Kansas crops and livestock would have looked like next year.

And that got me thinking. How many times do we treat God’s gifts like they’ll only cause us more trouble? Rain is a reminder of God’s faithfulness, of His provision, but if you only see the inconvenience of it, you will miss the point. It’s the same with any other blessings God gives us. God’s blessings and gifts don’t necessarily come easily. Yes, He gives them out free, but most of the time, that means you have to change something about your life in order to make the most of them. The plain and simple truth is that God’s blessings don’t always look or feel like blessings.

My 2005 Malibu after my very first wreck, Wichita, KS — 2008

Example from my own life? My first major wreck. I’d bought a “big girl” car with my own money, and I loved that car. I had it for three weeks because someone got up on the highway in a truck without securing his aluminum ladder. The wind blew it off and into my path, and in swerving to avoid it, I lost control and punched through a guard rail going 70 miles per hour. The impact sheared the whole front of the car off and took out 20 feet of the railing, and I walked away with a few airbag burns (and a separated shoulder, which we didn’t realize until four weeks later).

On the surface, the wreck was awful. It was the worst thing that I’d gone through in my life up until that point. I was hurt and sore and angry and disappointed, and I didn’t know what I had done wrong to deserve to go through it. But how did the story end? I got a better car.

My first car had been a 2005 Malibu with 50,000+ miles. With the settlement from the guy’s insurance company, I was able to buy a nicer 2008 Malibu with 17,000 miles.

My wreck was a pain, but God used it to give me something better than I had. On the surface, it looked awful, but God had a blessing in mind the whole time. It’s like rain. Rain can be taken as a difficulty, a pain, a curse, but according to this, rain is a sign that God hasn’t forgotten His promises to us. What our enemy means for evil, God can use for good.

So before you look at that tough situation in your life right now like it’s trouble, take a step back and ask God about it. Because there’s a good chance that there’s more to it than what you can see right now. And if you’re a Christ follower, you can know God is working things out for your good and His glory. Remember, God is faithful. He always keeps His promises. And even though it doesn’t always feel like it, He never leaves us.

So hang in there and hold on. God’s got it covered, and someday soon you’ll be able to look back and see His hand all over it.

Facing the floods without stopping

Sometimes I have to wonder at Kansas weather patterns. I mean, I expect it to be strange, but Kansas doesn’t just do strange weather. Kansas does extreme strange weather, at least in my neck of the woods. A storm spotter I work with tells me I live in the Bermuda Triangle of weather patterns because if it’s a bad storm and it’s in Kansas, it will find its way to my house. In the last few weeks, if you looked at the radar at all, you probably saw one of the crazy windy, heavy rainfall producing storms that decided to park over my house. And I’m just going to be honest: I’m sick to death of having to clean the water out of the basement.

We never used to have trouble with flooding, but a lot of different issues are playing a role in why the water keeps coming in–namely there’s just so much of it. One storm dropped six inches in an hour. That was the one I missed because I was in St. Louis, and my awesome parents came out and cleaned up for me. We’re scheduled for more rain this morning, tonight, and tomorrow night, and Friday morning too. Then, we’ll get a brief break before it all comes back down again on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday.

Dad’s trying to get everything sealed up this morning, but when you’re talking about that much rain, I’m just not convinced that anything can be done to stop it. And I’m doing my best to fight off the defeatist attitude, but it’s difficult, especially when there’s really nothing you can do to fix it.

Sunrise at Safe Haven Farm, Haven, KS

Today’s verse is Isaiah 43:2.

When you go through deep waters,
I will be with you.
When you go through rivers of difficulty,
you will not drown.
When you walk through the fire of oppression,
you will not be burned up;
the flames will not consume you.

I thought of this verse today, which is actually the theme verse for a novel my best friend is writing. It’s one of those lovely, comforting verses that is easy to cling to in troubled times. Even in a superficial glance, it’s easy to love this verse, but then when you start thinking about what it actually means, it makes you just love God even more.

This verse is a promise that no matter what comes in life, God never leaves His people to fight alone. And that’s exactly what we’re supposed to be doing: fighting. Look at the verse. When you go–when you walk–it doesn’t say when you’re standing still or when you’re waiting in place. If you’re wading or swimming through waters that would cover your head or if you’re fording a river or if you’re walking in a forest fire, stopping will mean you die. Stopping your forward momentum means you’re in trouble. You’re supposed to keep moving. You’re supposed to keep going. And this is God’s promise that you’ll make it through to the other side.

When you face the figurative fires that burn all around you, God has promised that you won’t be consumed. You won’t be burned up. Now, you might get a little toasty. You can’t walk through fire and not feel some of the heat, but that doesn’t mean the heat will overwhelm you. But you have to keep moving.

When you’re fording the waters of a raging river, trying to reach the other side so you can continue on your journey, God has promised you won’t drown. But you have to keep moving.

And when it’s all you can do to just keep treading water, God has promised that He won’t leave you. But like the other two, you can’t just stop. You have to keep moving.

So if life has left you timid and tired and weary and worn, don’t give up. You’re not alone. God hasn’t left. Don’t turn your back on Him just because you think He’s not listening; He is. And whatever you do, don’t stop. If you stop, you might be overwhelmed. Just keep going. Just keep believing. And just keep trusting that God is going to work it out. It’s who He is.

Fresh strength for the worn out

Do you ever get tired of everything? When you hit that wall on the edge of burn out where you’re not ready to give up but you’re too worn down to keep trying? Anyone else ever been there? I end up there more frequently than I care to admit, and there are a number of reasons for it. The primary reason is simply that I load myself down with too much to accomplish. I was lauhing at a drama team leader meeting last night that I had made a priority list of things I needed to do, and it turned out to be two pages long.

Sometimes I have those moments where I know everything is fine and even if it’s not fine, I know it will be. But even so, I just get tired. And as busy as my year has been up until this point, it’s fixing to get even busier, and if I’m already exhausted now, I’m kind of nervous about fall, which is when my life turns upside down.

So if any of you out there are where I am this morning–skirting the edge of burn out, trying to stay focused, grasping for the strength you need to accomplish things that used to bring you joy–this is for you. I hope it helps you as much as it helped me.

Sunrise on the Gulf of Mexico, Jamaica Beach, Galveston, TX

Isaiah 40:12-31 (The Message)

Who has scooped up the ocean
    in his two hands,
    or measured the sky between his thumb and little finger,
Who has put all the earth’s dirt in one of his baskets,
    weighed each mountain and hill?
Who could ever have told God what to do
    or taught him his business?
What expert would he have gone to for advice,
    what school would he attend to learn justice?
What god do you suppose might have taught him what he knows,
    showed him how things work?
Why, the nations are but a drop in a bucket,
    a mere smudge on a window.
Watch him sweep up the islands
    like so much dust off the floor!
There aren’t enough trees in Lebanon
    nor enough animals in those vast forests
    to furnish adequate fuel and offerings for his worship.
All the nations add up to simply nothing before him—
    less than nothing is more like it. A minus.

So who even comes close to being like God?
    To whom or what can you compare him?
Some no-god idol? Ridiculous!
    It’s made in a workshop, cast in bronze,
Given a thin veneer of gold,
    and draped with silver filigree.
Or, perhaps someone will select a fine wood—
    olive wood, say—that won’t rot,
 Then hire a woodcarver to make a no-god,
    giving special care to its base so it won’t tip over!

Have you not been paying attention?
    Have you not been listening?
Haven’t you heard these stories all your life?
    Don’t you understand the foundation of all things?
God sits high above the round ball of earth.
    The people look like mere ants.
He stretches out the skies like a canvas—
    yes, like a tent canvas to live under.
He ignores what all the princes say and do.
    The rulers of the earth count for nothing.
 Princes and rulers don’t amount to much.
    Like seeds barely rooted, just sprouted,
They shrivel when God blows on them.
    Like flecks of chaff, they’re gone with the wind.

“So—who is like me?
    Who holds a candle to me?” says The Holy.
Look at the night skies:
    Who do you think made all this?
Who marches this army of stars out each night,
    counts them off, calls each by name
—so magnificent! so powerful!—
    and never overlooks a single one?

Why would you ever complain, O Jacob,
     or, whine, Israel, saying,
“God has lost track of me.
    He doesn’t care what happens to me”?
Don’t you know anything?
Haven’t you been listening?
God doesn’t come and go. God lasts.
    He’s Creator of all you can see or imagine.
He doesn’t get tired out, doesn’t pause to catch his breath.
    And he knows everything, inside and out.
He energizes those who get tired,
    gives fresh strength to dropouts.
For even young people tire and drop out,
    young folk in their prime stumble and fall.
But those who wait upon God get fresh strength.
    They spread their wings and soar like eagles,
They run and don’t get tired,
    they walk and don’t lag behind.

He’ll answer when it’s time

I’m one of those people who runs around like a crazy person, doing everything I can think of to prepare for trouble or to take care of people who are in trouble, and then I pray. I rarely pray first, although I’m getting better about it. There’s something in my wiring that tells me praying is a last resort, when it really ought to be my first response.

This month, I’ve been doing a personal study of prayer, and in the last few days, I’ve experienced some pretty cool things about prayer that I really feel like I need to pass along.

Tree-lined path at the Dallas Arboretum, Dallas, TX

The Bible says in John 14:13-14,

You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!

That’s quite a promise. Have you ever put it to the test?

I’ve lived in the same general area since 1991. You can look at that as a good thing or a bad thing, but that’s been my life. And as a result of that, I’ve formed a lot of really awesome friendships. I’ve watched my peers grow up, get married, move away, move back, and have kids. I never liked kids very much, and I’m not a big fan of babies. But in recent years, I’ve had to start liking babies or I wouldn’t have any friends left!

I remember very vividly talking with four of my lady friends about how badly they wanted to have children. But they just couldn’t. It just didn’t happen.So we all started praying together that God would give them families.

Until one day when one of them got pregnant. And stayed pregnant until she had a healthy baby boy. Shortly after her, another one of the ladies got pregnant and also had a boy. And then another one of the ladies ended up with a girl. And it wasn’t just these ladies either. It was half my friends on Facebook. Everyone started having babies, except for this one friend of mine. She and her husband wanted a child. And they had tried everything for years, and nothing worked. We kept praying and praying and praying, but nothing changed.

Whenever we would talk about it, I just kept encouraging her to wait. And I hated that answer, because that was the answer I kept getting too. Not waiting for a baby but waiting for things I want out of life. I’ve been so frustrated with God at times because He doesn’t work on my timetable. I want Him to give me the things I want when I want them. And it’s in those moments that I forget who He is and treat Him like a genie in a lamp, my personal wish granter. And that’s not God.

I remember a particularly difficult day I had during that time. I was just so tired of waiting for what I wanted. And when I get down—really really down—I usually just grab my Bible and start reading Psalms. Psalms always cheer me up. But the Psalms weren’t doing the trick this one night. They just didn’t resonate like they usually did.

So I decided that because I was in such a mournful mood that maybe I should read Lamentations. After all, it doesn’t get much worse than Lamentations, right? I thought it in jest, but now I’m glad I did because I found a passage that changed the way I look at prayer and God’s timing.

Lamentations 3:21-26, 31-33

Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him.” The Lord is good to those who depend on him, to those who search for him. So it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the Lord. … For no one is abandoned by the Lord forever. Though he brings grief, he also shows compassion because of the greatness of his unfailing love. For he does not enjoy hurting people or causing them sorrow.

I don’t like waiting. I want what I want, and I want it now. I think I’m ready for it, but most of the time, I’m not. If God gave me my way and let me have what I wanted, the weight and responsibility of it would crush me like a bug. He knows how much I can handle. He knows what I can take. There’s a reason why He’s withholding the things I want, and it’s not to hurt me or cause me pain.

I don’t know better than He does.

Waiting stinks, but there’s always a reason for it. Maybe you need to grow. Maybe someone else needs to grow. Maybe circumstances or seasons need to change. Whatever it is, God knows, and He’s not going to interrupt His great plan to grant us our good request. But eventually, He will answer. And when He does, the fulfillment of that prayer will be better than you ever expected.

Baby Hoo has finally arrived! Meet Audrey Kay Hoover!

I spent my lunch break yesterday at the hospital with a 7-pound, 7-ounce little girl who most of us had given up hope would ever exist. She was born June 10 at 10pm. And if God had given into our requests and allowed her to be born four years ago, I don’t think the world would have been ready for this little miracle bundle of crazy.

So if you’ve asked God for something, if you’re waiting on God to answer you, don’t give up. He’s not ignoring you. He’s not trying to hurt you. He’s not testing your patience. He’s waiting for the right time to give you more than what you asked for.

He won’t answer when you want Him to. He’ll answer when it’s time.