Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us,
But to Your name give glory,
Because of Your mercy,
Because of Your truth.
Why should the Gentiles say,
“So where is their God?
But our God is in heaven;
He does whatever He pleases

Psalm 115:1-3

If God is the source of true hope and blessing, and all glory and honor go to Him however, why do we still ask where He is today? I find the study text supporting verses 2 and 3 applicable to our lives even today. It says, “People deny God’s presence or power when he does not act as they think he should. God is in the heavens and he has all power, authority, and knowledge. He does as he wishes and not what people think he should do. He works out his plans in accord with his will and acts in ways he chooses.”

We live in a broken world where we pray for God to do our will and what we believe is good for us. When He doesn’t answer how we want Him to we become angry, question His goodness, and believe He doesn’t love us because we didn’t get what we thought we deserved. We tune our eyes and ears to align with the worlds way and not that of God and instead miss the very provision given.

Could it be our inclination to see our prayers unfold in the world disrupts our vision of the unseen God present in our lives and who He wants to be for us?

Their idols are silver and gold,
The work of men’s hands.
They have mouths, but they do not speak;
Eyes they have, but they do not see;
They have ears, but they do not hear;
Noses they have, but they do not smell;
They have hands, but they do not handle;
Feet they have, but they do not walk;
Nor do they mutter through their throat.
Those who make them are like them;
So is everyone who trusts in them.

Psalm 115:4-8

If I have a mouth, eyes, ears, feet but do not use them, how can I testify His provision if I refuse seeing, listening, and walking in Spirit above the human understanding that limits me. If I am placing my Creator in a box of my will, time, and way, then I will never truly see His answers to my prayers and become disappointed and disillusioned to a false truth of who God really is. It’s becoming clearer it’s not so much as trusting in man or myself but trusting in the all-knowing God who loves me beyond measure and knows what is best for me.

I am not here to control God, but myself. I am not here to make my will known to Him but to fix my eyes on Him, looking for progress in the small things not the ways sought after in the world. He is my help and my shield and acts on my behalf on what is good for me, not what I nor the world believes good for me. I can always expect God to answer my prayers but if I set limits on God, and decide how I expect Him to answer me, I ultimately choose to close my eyes, ears and heart to anything He would do on my behalf, never growing to fully trust Him as well as love and praise Him.

O Israel, trust in the Lord;
He is their help and their shield.
O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord;
He is their help and their shield.
You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord;
He is their help and their shield.

Psalm 115:9-11

I am learning the things that are often unexplainable or misunderstood by others are the exact things leading us to question God.  When we can’t explain in our human understanding or knowledge, we doubt it as true since it doesn’t fit in the box we limit Him to, causing us to forget how big and all-encompassing He truly is.  There are no coincidences in life only Godincidences ordained for a specific need understood as God’s revealing hand in answer to your prayer.  God answers intimately directing our attention and eyes on Him, meeting us in the center of our crisis, leaving a lasting impression, unquestionable to who He is as He reveals himself at a particular moment.  Just because one persons’ experience differs from another person does not mean it’s discounted for the lack of understanding from another.

When I fix my eyes on Him and not the noise in the world screaming at me, I see Him working on my behalf, showing, loving and guiding me. It’s never as I envision or want it being but so much more in the growth of my trust, love and thanksgiving of Him as I see His provision to my prayers unfold in His time, way, and plans He chooses for me.  He truly is faithful, filled with unfailing love, and worthy of all the glory, honor and praise. He is the true provider of our hope and blessing not what man has made as a replacement.