Our sight may bring discouraging reports about prayer’s effectiveness. Pay no attention to it. God is still in control. Even the delay to the answer of our prayers is part of His good plan. —Sarah M. Hupp
I’ve been hearing from a number of you recently who’ve been struggling with the Divine Timing portion of our program. :-) Faith demands patience; and that’s where it seems most of us get our knickers in a twist. But the truth is, impatience is not the biggest problem.
Maybe you’ve been praying for your soul mate…the perfect job…the perfect publisher to buy your novel…the perfect radio station to say “Hells yeah!” to your perfect talk show proposal. You’re doing the prayers, the visualizations, keeping the faith, and all your efforts are amounting to NOTHING…we’ve talked time and again about Stage Two of manifestation, when everything seems to stall, or even fall apart around you. But far worse than the external manifestations of Stage Two, for me, are the internal voices that inevitably rise up in the middle of it, saying, “Ok. So what if you spend all this time believing and hoping and praying, and it never shows up? What then? Don’t get your hopes up…don’t dream, don’t believe, because then you can’t be disappointed.”
Far more than stagnation or chaos or falling apart, the human psyche rails against the looming possibility of disappointment. Because at the heart of disappointment lies the ultimate fear: that either God doesn’t exist, or worse, He does, but you don’t deserve His favor.
Risk believing, or play it safe? No matter how frustrated or impatient or scared or tired I might become, or how seductive the idea of “safety” might seem in a given moment, I can’t imagine living without the magic and the hope that trusting in God engenders. Besides, the only true safety comes from faith. Without God, I am defined by my disappointments. With God, I am re-directed to a higher path.
So, whatever stage you might be in right now, hang in there… and in the immortal words of Fleetwood Mac and Journey (and probably a bunch of other bands over the years!): Don’t Stop Believin’!!
If you need an extra dose of inspiration, check out yesterday’s video post (6/21/11) on my Facebook Fanpage: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Michele-Morgan/240973004139
For more information on the stages of manifestation, listen to the episodes on 5/10/10 and 5/17/10 of Living on a Prayer: http://www.michelemorgan.org/radio.html
Posts
Michelle, It's funny but I went looking for you on FB today to see if you had any new posts and by golly you did.
ReplyDeleteI've got to tell you God's divine timing is so right on.
I've been unemployed 2 years tomorrow. In that time my husband and I haven't lost our home, cars or any other object we hold near and dear. We still have our good heath and happiness. In these 2 yrs I have listened to you and others on the subject of spirituality and Religion. I have struggled at times financial and had to cut back on spending. I have been through stage 2 the dark night of the soul several times, where everything seems to fall apart or just stall.
The money always showed up in a miraculous way just when I really needed it.
I kept praying and believing, Oh I had moments where I doubted but, I quickly asked for guidance and it came to me.
My husband is retiring at the end of this month, when we decided this in January we both kept the faith and remembered that with God all Things are Possible.
I interviewed for a position last Monday and Yesterday I got the call at 4:50 that I got it.
I have such Faith that at times I feel I'll burst with excitement and Glory. Praise God.
I want to Thank You for taking my hand and guiding me and If I can help you in anyway I'm there for you.
I know that what you desire will manifest in God's time.
I love this that you wrote and will remember it always "I can’t imagine living without the magic and the hope that trusting in God engenders"
Keep Believin
Blessings
Judy
Judy, you sweet, sweet angel! :-) Congratulations on the job, and even more, for your courage, willingness and commitment to your faith! You are a true inspiration, and your words here are yet another confirmation for me of God's power. Huge hugs, and even bigger angels to you!! XO
ReplyDeleteAha! Light bulb for me. :-) God answers all prayers in one of three ways: 1) yes; 2) not yet; 3) I've got something better in mind. After reading your post it occurs to me that 2 and 3 are the same thing. So not only is the "nothing" that happens in Stage Two part of the "something," it's most likely part of "something better." It makes sense that more better takes more time, because it also takes more faith.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Michele, for the inspiration and words of wisdom.
And Judy - congratulations and thank you for your awesome story of keeping the faith!
Liz