A funny thing happened the other day at the hair salon.
Ever since the great hair debacle of 2017 back in the Spring, I’ve been trying to make a change and let my hair grow a little longer. (So if you see this week’s video and think “Doesn’t she own a hairbrush?"---I’m letting them grow out---we’re in an awkward stage.)
Anyway, after seeing the video I decided that it was time for a trim. So I went to my usual spot and told the stylist what I’d like her to do.
It was her reply that stunned me. She said:
“No, I cannot do that. It isn’t right, it will look bad, and you won’t like it.”
Then she proceeded to tell me what she would do to help me achieve my goal. (She also encouraged me to hang in there and by Christmas I’d like the results.)
I have to admit, at first, I was taken back by her words: so definitive, so resolved. But when she was finished, I appreciated her actions because her advice was so helpful. She knew what she was doing and she did what was best rather than what I wanted.
In the days that followed I started thinking about how many times I’ve had this same type of conversation with God.
Absolutely sure that I knew what I needed, I’d go to Him in prayer saying, “You must do this!!! I need this!!!”
In His wisdom, He, like my stylist says, “No, I cannot do that. It isn’t right and you won’t like it.”
In my younger days, I’d huff and puff and pout and get angry that God wasn’t giving me what I needed.
However, with age comes maturity and having lived through enough situations that played themselves out to the realization that God was right and I wouldn’t have liked what I thought I so desperately needed, I’ve learned to accept this reply and trust that the Heavenly Father knows best.
He knows what is good for us---what we really need and what will be positively terrible for us.
If we are willing to accept His plans and follow His ways, He will ultimately lead us through the difficult times to the place that He has always designed for us to be. When we reach this goal, we will find purpose and fulfillment beyond anything that we can ever imagine.
Psalm 37:3-6 says:
Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this:
He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun.”
The Message Version translates verse 7 this way:
“Quiet down before God, be prayerful before him.”
Don’t squawk, balk, throw a fit and demand your own way.
Accept God’s answer, believe that He knows best, and trust Him to get you where you need to go.
Just a gentle reminder from one sister to another!
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