Getting through the haze

We’ve had terrible smoke in Jacksonville this past week. Fires from Georgia and further south are to blame. It’s like driving through a thin layer of fog. However, when it lifts, it becomes clear and beautiful out.

It got me wondering. How many of you have that hazy feeling when it comes to your faith? There might be times you feel God doesn’t really hear you.

Don’t be mistaken. God is always listening. So approach him with confidence. 1 John 5:14-15 reads, This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.  And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.

I know what you’re thinking. Kathy, I’ve asked God for things, but nothing changed. There could be reasons for that.

Maybe God knows you’re not ready. You might be asking for a raise. Do you budget and take care of the money he gives you now? Do you tithe? You might be asking for a husband. Are you independent and set in your ways? Will you be willing to work hard at a relationship even if you don’t get your way?

Another reason things might not have changed is that you didn’t like God’s answer. Maybe you asked God for that raise, but instead you got laid off. Could it be that God is telling you to work somewhere else? Maybe even go into missionary work? Notice, in the verse, it’s according to “His will”, not yours.

Sometimes the problem isn’t that God is hazy, we’re the ones in the fog. We don’t always like the answer so we ignore what He is telling us.

If you’ve been asking God for something, and you feel He hasn’t answered, maybe the thing you need to ask is for Him to make you a better listener.  It could be you’re the one who is hard of hearing. Once the fog clears, like with the smoke in Jacksonville, maybe everything will become clear to you.