I've Got Questions

There is a meme of a skeleton on a bench, and most of the time it begins with, “This is me waiting for…” I have felt that way sometimes waiting for God to answer a question or a prayer request. Me: God, why did this happen? God: silence. Me: God, when are You going to (fill in the blank)? God: silence. It’s a tough wait, but as I get older, I am beginning to at least understand the waiting better. This year as I prayed about my dreams, I can see God revealing things to me in layers. Sometimes I will ask Him why doesn’t He just give me all of the information at once. Again, I don’t know why. Or could it be because I couldn’t handle everything at once? I have prayed about various areas of my life. What would happen if God started answering all of the questions in all of the areas at once? Personally I visualize a three-ring circus. God works well in chaos, but I don’t. I like structure and order. But back to the answers. There is a book I have been writing off and on for about two years and the topic is life’s disappointments. There have been times when I lost things or experienced things that made me feel defeated. Even though I got back up, I still had “why” questions. Depending on how we were raised and taught, some of us think it’s wrong to ask God why. Why? Didn’t He create us to think? Isn’t questioning a part of thinking? Questioning can be done respectfully, and I pray that that is what I’ve been doing. But most recently I started asking a different question, and now the answers have started coming faster. No more skeletons on the bench. Me: God, what am I supposed to learn from this? God: (usually the answer comes within a week or two) Yesterday I wrote about a dream I had the night before, but last week I had another dream that I downplayed. I had a dream that I was walking in rain for hours. I was calling friends to pick me up, but no one could come and get me. I could see buildings I could have walked into for shelter, but for some reason I kept walking and getting drenched. When I woke up, I was upset because in real life I HATE RAIN. Well, I don’t mind rain when I’m inside with the TV and snacks. I hate rain when I’m out in it getting wet. So I knew in my spirit that God was telling me that rain was coming, but I didn’t want to receive it. Can you believe rain came the next day? Rain on my spirit. Initially I felt blindsided, but later I realized God had revealed to me that the moment was coming. He truly is an awesome God! I had been having an awesome week and an incredible day, and then the rain came. I told God that I didn’t understand why He let it happen at that moment when I was so happy. His answer was that I had to learn to navigate through both good times and bad. It was at that moment that I asked what else I was supposed to learn from that experience, and He has been revealing layer after layer. I have heard preachers say that the greatest revelations occur in the struggle, and now I can agree. When I’m lying on the beach in the sunshine, a few gems may come to mind, but for the most part it is when we are in the lowest valleys getting drenched with rain when God reveals Himself. The answers will come if we stay open to receiving them.