Today’s exhortation – gift wrapped answer
Sometimes the answers to our prayers won’t come to us as we expect them. God may give them to us wrapped with trials and adversities and we may have to unwrap them by having to go through before we get our answer or the gift. Take Elijah for instance, the Lord said to him, “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.” (I Kings 17:9). However when Elijah went to Zarephath, the widow he found there was starving to death and down to her last meal! Elijah looked past the physical circumstances and use his faith to unwrap the gift God had prepared for him. He told her not to be afraid but to make him food with her last and God will provide her with an endless supply of food. After she did as he said, the bible says, “The bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry, according to the word of the LORD which He spoke by Elijah.” (I Kings 17:16).
God may’ve promised to heal you and you may be expecting an instant healing but He may choose to use a course of medical treatment to heal you. You maybe be praying for God to supply your needs and instead of a cash handout, He may provide you with a job. You may pray for a partner who comes with a certain criteria and God will give you one who looks nothing like you expected. You’ll have to pray or work out that criteria with them. Don’t dismiss every trial or tribulation, they may come packed with goodies. Happy Sunday
Francis Hans-Jorie