The Tie that Binds

One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard: that you , O God, are strong, and that you, O Lord, are loving. – Psalm 62:11-12

Everyone who walks this earth has experienced some sort of life shaking event. What is deemed unbearable to one is nothing to someone else, still we have all experienced something that has ground our lives to a halt at some point. It may have been an issue with a child, some sort of health problem, or the loss of a parent or good friend. We’ve all felt the sting of pain in some shape or fashion.

It’s these times of hardship when we tend to focus and center our prayers to the one who can make a difference. Perhaps we pray occasionally, then something terrible is facing us. We begin to focus on prayer, begging and pleading with the Father to hear us. God does hear us with every prayer we pray, however, He does not choose to answer every prayer in the way we are asking. God is a Father of righteousness and love. He can lift his head and see what lies ahead for us – He is all knowing, all seeing and ever present. He has the ability to know what roads we will choose simply by looking ahead. The answers we hope for may not be what is in our best interest.

One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard: that you, O God, are strong, and that you, O Lord, are loving. (Psalm 62:11-12) There is great wisdom within the words of this psalm. God is constant and reliable. He never changes. He is strong where we are weak, and He is able where we are unable. Yet through His greatness and His strength, He is loving. Yes, loving.

Just as a child who doesn’t get their way, we sometimes stomp our feet and cry because God has not answered our prayers in the methods which we told Him. You see, that’s the key issue. We try to tell God how to answer our prayers. “I love you Lord, and I trust You, but You need to answer my prayer this way.” Our Father must lean back and shake His head in wonderment from time to time.

Often times, His children pray to Him as spoiled children. God is strong and He knows what is necessary for us, and He loves us even when He doesn’t give us everything we ask for.

Learning to respect the omniscience of God is hard for us to understand, and harder for us to do. However, when we come to the understanding that God, in His infinite wisdom, knows what is best, then we can rest assured His plan will work out.. We do not see the future but our trust can certainly offer us guidance toward it.

God is strong, and loving. He knows what is best, even when we do not understand the reasoning behind things. This is the tie that binds us to him. This is what holds us firmly in place.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, we do not always understand why life happens in the ways that it does. Help us to trust that You know what is best in every situation.