My wife and I were in a store the other day doing some shopping.
I wandered off (as usual) while she was doing her thing.
I found a spot near the pet supplies and stood in the aisle reading a few posts on Substack.
A little girl (probably 4 or 5 years old) was with her mother. The girl picked up a dog bed and took it to her mom.
‘Can we get this dog bed?’
‘No!’ her mom said.
‘But I want it. It’s soft and fluffy.’
Again her mom calmly stated, ‘No. You can’t get it.’
‘But I like it. I want it’ the little girl protested. She then proceeded to list the many reasons it was important to her.
‘No. Put it back!’ her mother responded.
The little girl then decided it was time to up her game. She started pouting. Her lip bugged out, fake tears welled up in her eyes.
Her mother never equivocated. ‘Put it back I said.’
This time the little girl whimpered. ‘I don’t understand. Why can’t I get this dog bed.’
To which her mom quipped, not missing a beat…
‘Because we don’t have a dog.’
That…
That made me laugh. Out loud.
As silly as it sounds, there is a lesson buried in this comical situation.
I couldn’t help but think about the times I’ve wanted something I wasn’t ready for. And how many times I tried to make my case, only to be told ‘No. You don’t have a dog!’
The take away is: We have to be ready for what we desire. Wanting it is not enough. We have to own the dog.
3 Reasons We Aren’t Ready
God has so many great things in store for us. But too often we simply aren’t ready.
Here are three big reasons we often have to wait:
1. God desires maturity and character; not talent and giftedness.
The harsh truth is, God is not interested in your talents. Or gifts. After all, they come from Him.
What He IS interested in is your character. Why? This is something YOU develop. It’s a measure of your trust, allegiance, and loyalty to God.
Commercial Christianity is filled with talented, gifted individuals who do not have the character or maturity to do the job.
When our focus in on depth, God will supply width.
2. Timing matters; we can’t afford to rush ahead of God.
When God says ‘No’ it is most often a ‘Not yet.’
One of the ideas attached to supplication prayers is timing and alignment.
Here’s what I mean:
We pray for something. So God begins setting the stage for that thing to come about. (I believe these prayers actually originate in the heart and mind of God, but that’s for another article).
God moves this piece to that location. That piece to this location. He is working ‘behind the scenes’ so to speak, setting things in place so His will can be accomplished.
This takes time.
I’ve prayed for my friends and family to come to know the Lord. It’s never happened overnight. But it has happened.
What I didn’t see was God setting the stage for them to encounter Him. This takes time.
I often picture it like a chess match between God and the devil. (Don’t spin this analogy too far; the devil is NO MATCH for God. They are not equal. By far).
God makes a move. The devil counter moves. God makes another move. The devil counters.
All the while God is leading the devil down a one way street to check-mate.
Those moves happen over time.
Point is: Don’t get discouraged when you have to wait. Focus on deepening your walk with God, and grow in character. This is what YOU can do. Then let God do what only He can do.
3. We have failed to act.
Someone defined faith this way: Acting on information (revelation) you receive from God.
While faith is much more nuanced than that, I like the simplicity for several reasons.
Faith is not merely knowing something. The devil knows there is a God. But he doesn’t align himself with God. Big difference.
Sometimes we aren’t ready because we haven’t stepped out in faith to possess God’s promises.
I’ve been reading through Numbers, Joshua and Judges during my morning quiet time. One thing stands out: There is a difference in what God promised, and what they possessed.
Just compare these verses:
And the LORD your God will expel them from before you and drive them out of your sight. So you shall possess their land, as the LORD your God promised you. – Joshua 23:5
And…
But the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who inhabited Jerusalem; so the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day. – Judges 1:21
This is not an isolated statement. You find it over and over in the book of Judges.
While there may be several reasons Israel failed to possess their promises, the one major reason is they did not obey. They did not act on God’s Word as He promised.
Here’s something I have found valuable. Ask yourself, ‘What is the last thing I remember God speaking to me?’
Now. Go act on that thing.
Don’t over complicate faith. In it’s purest form it is acting on what God says.
God’s Promises Are For You
God’s word is full of ‘great and precious promises.’
As His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue (KJV says ‘to glory’) By which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. – 2 Peter 1:3-4
We actually participate in God’s nature when we live (act on) the promises of God.
God is not saying ‘no’ to His promise; He is saying be ready.
Don’t be like the little girl in the store who wanted the dog bed…but she didn’t have a dog.
Let’s get a dog (metaphorically speaking) and be ready for all God wants to do.
