Gideon said to Him, “O my lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the LORD has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.”
--Judges 6:13
How many of us have prayed for something...for a long time? Or felt like we waited an eternity for an answer from God, sitting back in despair when the situation seemed most dire, wondering why He hadn't answered yet? Maybe we did receive an answer, but it wasn't the one we wanted. Either way, whichever answer we receive and whatever end the situation comes to, waiting is perhaps the hardest part.
And sometimes it feels like waiting on a miracle. We wait for healing for a loved one, we wait for financial circumstances to improve, we wait for that job offer to finally roll in, we wait for someone we care about to change the way they've been living. Even waiting on the future can seem like waiting for a miracle, as we wait to discover where we are supposed to be, who we are supposed to become, and who we are supposed to be with. Sometimes, it feels as if it would take a miracle for all the pieces of our life to be put together.
Disappointment can hit us now and then too, making the situation seem even more impossible. Just look at the desperation in Gideon's words. Can't you just hear him plead for a miracle? He might as well have said, "Our fathers witnessed miracles, so why has God left us in the dark now? Why are we in this mess? Where is our miracle?"
I guess a lot of us could say that today. We experience so many problems throughout life, then begin complaining to God, asking for a miracle. The funny thing is, he's already given us so many miracles. The miracle of life and love and happiness. The miracle of His Son. The miracle of being able to go to Him and pray these prayers or question what He is doing.
I've struggled with some doubt, especially lately, wondering if some of the deepest desires of my heart will come true for my future. I pray to God, hoping that my will is His as well. I've met with some setbacks and disappointments, and sometimes it feels like I've waited such a long time for God to give me His final answer. There are times when I feel as if it will be a "No", and I should stop hoping. But then I remember that, even if a "Yes" feels like a miracle, I've already witnessed countless miracles. If God has given me so many blessings and showed me so many miracles already in my life, who am I to doubt that this one will occur as well? Even if the answer were a "No", God would make that result into a type of miracle, as He reshaped my future into something even greater than I've dreamed or hoped for all my life.
And that is, after all, how God has always answered prayer, giving us the best answer for each situation. The "Yes" or "No" answers are all miracles in their own ways. We can't give up on a miracle, grow discouraged during the wait, or become broken over the answer. God always answers, and the answer is always for the best.
