BLIND. Faith.
I was blessed with a great family and, growing up, we were very close. So living with family seems like it would be a great option while my wife and I were in between houses. We had just sold our house and because of financial strain, we didn't want to rent a house or an apartment. We were hoping to save as much as possible while we were looking to either build a new house or buy one already built. We just knew this would be a good opportunity to save while also giving a little to my family for their hospitality. And, heck, it was only for a short time… We would be out of there in a few months, so we thought. But God had other plans. His plans dealt with several things - faith/trust, pride, frustration, patience, being content, and His timing, not ours.
Well, let’s just say that a few months turned into a year and a half. Yeah, a year and a half of living in my childhood home, sleeping in my childhood room at the age of 44. No hurt pride there.
The house is roughly 1600 sq. ft, in the country (no paved driveway or garage), on ten acres. When it rained, it was muddy. When it was warm, you would have to watch for snakes. When it was cold and rainy, the dog still had to go out on a leash so he wouldn't run off. The only internet offered in this area is DSL, which wound up slightly faster than dial-up (if you remember what that is). There was no cable in our room, which meant having to stream TV or movies. But since we were in the back of the house, we got the internet signal "leftovers", which meant we weren't going to be watching much TV. Not necessarily a bad thing, but after a long day, it would be nice to relax in bed and watch something, since thats where we would spend the majority of our time, unless we wanted to enjoy a Fox News marathon with my parents. Patience? Being content?
Oh, and then there was the house search! I remember at one point after looking at this perfect house, we made an offer. The house had been on the market for a long time and the builder was just trying to dump it since it was the last one in the subdivision. My wife and I thought this was definitely the house God had for us. It was new and the size was right. The only problems were that it was a 2-story (we said never again) and there was no yard. Oh, and there was a development going in behind the house that scalped the trees, so you could see the houses within 100ft of the driveway. It didn't matter. It was a good deal and we were okay with overlooking these minor issues. So we submit an offer and we go back and forth a bit, but the builder is not willing to budge. So we lose it to someone else. At this point, we have made offers on 4 houses and probably seen over 20, yet everything has fallen through. Both my my wife and I are extremely frustrated and in this moment, I tell God I'm done worrying about it. I no longer want to carry this burden. I am frustrated with waiting and how this is turning out, but I know His will is for us to have a house at some point and I do not want to settle. I want what He wants us to have. So we continue to look. My wife finds a house in a new development in an older neighborhood. We go look at the house and I don't care for it. It is the right size and the yard is nice, but I feel like we would be settling again. My wife, however, likes the house and wants to make an offer. You can imagine how the conversation goes when I tell her I'm not interested in settling on a house that doesn't meet our wants and needs. It didn't go well. Yet, on our way out of the neighborhood, after touring that house, we noticed that a builder was still building a few houses. So my wife reached out to the builder and they had one last one-story left that had some finishes we were interested in. We make an appointment to meet with the sales person and she runs us through the plan. This house had been started (foundation), but the buyer had busted out. So we still had time to choose our finishes! God's timing.
We look back over the course of that year and half and now see how perfect God's timing is. Our new house wasn't ready when we sold our house. And God had some work to do on each of us while we lived with my family. Scriptures says His ways are not our ways and that His ways are higher than our ways. We had no way of knowing why we couldn't find a house. There was no reason we could see. Our credit was great. We had a down payment and very little debt. Yet, nothing ever panned out. We were lost.
Nevertheless, when we finally gave it to God, He answered. He had answered all along by telling us to wait. He knew He had our house in the works, but we had to stop seeking our way and truly seek His was - His will.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
(Philippians 4:6)
Trust in the Lord will all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.
(Proverbs 3:5)
But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.
(Jeremiah 17:7)
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we doin not see.
(Hebrews 11:1)
in you, my God, I put my trust.
(Psalm 25:1)
Are you currently lacking faith? Do you feel that God is not answering you prayers? If so, please take the time to stop, get on your knees and go to God and ask Him to speak to you. Ask Him to reveal what the true issue is. Is this a moment of His teaching? Is He drawing you closer to Him by revealing the fact that you need to reply on Him in all aspects of your life?