Have you ever experienced a moment where God was asking you to do something, but you just did not want to do it? Then when you finally do it, He shows up and gives you the answer you have been asking Him for a long time. In sixteen years of ministry, I have noticed God provide the biggest blessings at the times when I least expected it — those times when I really wanted to do something else.
This story began over two years ago with a small church plant and a weekly prayer call. We prayed consistently, asking for God’s favor in the universities in that area. We would get small answers here and there but nothing gained traction.
One evening, my pastor friend and I received an invitation to a banquet we have been to a few times in the past. Not only was this banquet a long distance away, but we both had all day commitments the very next day to attend to. We were, in church words, “grumbling and complaining”.
All of us can relate to this. I’m sure there have been times in your life when you know God is nudging you in a certain direction, but that direction is the uncomfortable choice. It would be easier for you to stay in, sit on the couch and be comfortable.
This is akin to the story of Jonah in the Old Testament. God spoke to Jonah and asked him to go to the city of Nineveh. Jonah really did not want to go. As a matter of fact, he went in the complete opposite direction as far as he could get from Nineveh. God knew what He wanted to do through Jonah’s life, but Jonah was reluctant to obey. He wanted to use Jonah’s life for something greater — to turn a nation back to Him and save many lives. And so God gave Jonah another chance to be obedient, but first his attitude needed adjusting. He was swallowed up by a huge fish and lived in the belly of the fish for three days, where Jonah’s attitude changed to that of obedience. Then the fish spit him out, and Jonah went to Nineveh and brought God’s message to the city, and they were saved.
Jonah was the ANSWER at that moment. Sometimes like Jonah, you and I are the answer to someone else’s prayer, but the choice is ours — do we listen to God and go where He wants us even when we don’t want to? We never know who we are standing in the gap for or what blessing we might be to a person.
So here we were at this event — everything we expected to happen happened. But God did something beyond those expectations. Sitting at our table was the faculty of one of the universities we had been praying for. RIGHT AT OUR TABLE! We didn’t have to go searching for this answer. God brought it straight to us. And to think we almost missed it because we were grumbling and complaining like Jonah!
As we left, we were convicted but so grateful we did what we didn’t want to do. God used what we presumed would be uneventful and tedious for our good. God has a sense of humor — nine times out of ten, the answer to our prayers are at the other side of our comfort zone, in those moments when we have to look silly for God or humble ourselves before Him.
We thought we knew what we were going to get that night, but God knew exactly what He wanted to do. Romans 8:28 tells us, “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”
So much more awaits those of us who are willing to be available to God when he calls us. Blessings don’t come in the way we expect them, but they do come. Trusting and obeying are key. If we can step out in faith and obey, and do what God is telling us even when it is uncomfortable, then He will lead us into His blessings for us and for others. I encourage you to go today where God is asking you to go, and then watch Him work powerfully on your behalf.