Do you have prayers you have prayed for years, still waiting for an answer? I know that I’m not the only one.

While I realize that God’s timing is perfect and His ways are high above my own, I have to admit that sometimes I get discouraged because I don’t see the answers coming fast enough. But I reason I can’t hurry God, because I want His answer and not my short-sighted one. So I continue to pray.

I have been struggling with those prayers I offer for the people I love that do not put their faith in God or know Him personally. The struggle is real because I know we are called to share our faith. I share in the best way I know, but I also sense when it is time to back off and hold my tongue. I don’t want these people to feel annoyed if I would keep pushing when the response isn’t receptive. But my heart hurts because I want to see them in heaven someday, and I know they could be enjoying relationship with God now. I so want them to know the joy of walking with God and the blessing and provision it brings.

This is where Proverbs 3:5-6 comes in: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.”

In other words, I cannot lean on my own understanding that God might not want to answer this prayer, or to answer it now. I need to continue trusting that God is already at work and that He has a far greater love for these people than I am even capable of.

Sunday’s message was a “red X” story of how God lovingly pursued Joey Gerarden through years of alcohol abuse and addiction. Joey didn’t really know God and didn’t know how to look for Him, but he had amazing stamina and resilience as he struggled on his own, again and again. Though he was resourceful in managing the only life he knew, trouble followed him even as he tried to run from consequences. If you missed Sunday’s message, please watch the video to find out what finally made Joey realize he needed Jesus in His life, and how things began to fall into place after that.

Joey’s is another beautiful story of God’s redemptive power and an amazing reminder of how God is right in the middle of situations that might otherwise seem “hopeless.”

It warmed my heart and made me think of a verse that has often encouraged me -- Isaiah 65:1,

“I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me; I was found by those who did not seek me. To a nation that did not call on my name, I said, ‘Here am I, here am I.’”

Ah, yes! God is already at work. He knows all, loves all with an unfailing love. He is never without hope, without mercy or without a solution. He is never aimless, careless or powerless. His resources are abundant, His patience plentiful, and His energy is bountiful. Even if we must wait for God’s perfect timing, we can trust and know that He is already in loving pursuit.

Thank you, God!