Say what?

Have you ever misunderstood what God was trying to tell you?

I tend to find myself in this cycle that surely has God shaking His head at me.  I plan something, and I think it's the best plan that has to work out, then something happens, my plan crumbles, and I start angrily asking God "Why?!?".

In these times, this is what I hear:

Loud and clear, I think He is telling me "NO".  It seems confusing because it seems like there were so many yeses leading up to this no, that I become angry, confused, and sad while trying to figure out His response.

The world we live it is all about NOW.  Everything we want is at the touch of a button.  We watch Netflix so we don't have to wait for commercials, we use Uber Eats so we don't have to waste time standing in line somewhere, we can buy literally anything from our phones.  These things aren't bad, but they do cause us to constantly live in a world where we are thinking about such a small little window of time.  It becomes difficult to step back and look at the bigger picture, because we can't see past our current needs and desires.

It seems to me the disciples had this problem as well.  Jesus straight up warned His disciples about His upcoming crucifixion.  In John 16:9, He said to them "In a little while you will see me more no more, and then after a little while you will see me".  Instead of asking Jesus for clarification, they began to ask each other.  Jesus noticed this, so He gave them more details. 

While His disciples even claimed they understood what He was saying, they still did not expect Him to rise again after His death.  No matter what Jesus said, they had a difficult time applying His words past the grief that was right in front of them.  They were so focused on what was happening before their eyes, they didn't listen to what Christ was saying to them.  They thought they were listening, but the present situation made them miss the meaning of His words.

When Jesus appeared to Thomas, Thomas doubted His presence even though Jesus was physically standing in front of him.  Jesus had to show him the holes in His hands for Thomas to fully believe.  You would think that after being told so many times, even in past prophesies, the disciples would have had more hope and truly listened to His words.

You would think we would have a little more hope and truly listen to His words.

If you have kept up with my life, you know I have been on the struggle bus with internships.  I will get offered one, get so excited and KNOW it must be God's plan, then it gets delayed or canceled.  Again. And Again.

Every. Single. Time. I get so sad and angry.  Why God!? Why would you do this!? Why did you say no AGAIN!?!?

Every. Time. 

But do you know what happens every time?

It works out perfectly.  I get offered a different one that works out better, I meet amazing friends that I wouldn't have a few months earlier, I grow professionally, personally, and spiritually more than I could have dreamed.  

If I would've just taken a step back each time and tried to see what God was actually trying to tell me,   there would have been a lot less worry going on.  Yeah, He was telling me "No" for that instant, but that's not the bigger picture God was saying.

Let's look at the same exact picture from above, just zoomed out a little...

If we would just take a step back, we might actually hear the whole thing God is saying.  Focusing on such a little picture of our lives causes us to miss the peace and hope He is constantly and consistently offering us.

Didn't it seem a little silly that Thomas was doubting Christ when He was physically looking at Him?  How could you see something like that and still doubt?

We physically can pick up our Bible every day and see the words that are printed that God DID say, yet we spend so much time thinking about what we think He might have said.  I would much rather trust in His actual Word than my misinterpretation.