“Come near to God and he will come near to you.” -James 4:8

That makes it sound pretty easy, doesn’t it?

In times of trial – when I’m trying to understand God’s plan for our lives, I struggle with forgetting that prayer isn’t always a magic trick. Maybe you’re like me – when you cry out to God for answers tossing & turning trying to sleep – you expect to wake up the next morning with a clear mindset & firm understanding of His path for you.

You, like me, miss the point – we aren’t in trusting God when we aren’t patient in His timing.

Most of the time, I think we mistake God “coming near” to us as fixing everything we see as broken in our lives. And when that doesn’t happen right away, we don’t trust that God really cares – that He’s really with us & for us. Rather, when we seek God, come near to Him, He “comes near” with the reminder of His constant presence & His perfect peace. When we come near to God, we’re reminded that we are never alone.

Maybe the storm won’t immediately cease – but we are reminded that our heavenly father, our mighty savior, our constant companion – is the one the storms obey. That the one storms obey & the one who holds the skies, is the one who holds our hearts. And crazy enough, values our hearts above everything. The God that created the wind and the waves and the storms and the skies values most OUR hearts that can’t even comprehend His love.

Instead of praying for answers, pray for patience. Instead of praying for a solution, praise for a God so big – our trials are so small. Instead of expecting to endure trials on our own – understand your story has already been written – and the author has already been there.

No matter how strong your faith is, your boat will always be rocked. I guess that’s the beauty of faith – we can boast of our sufferings because we know that they only make our faith stronger. We can be joy-filled because the same God that’s holding your boat created the ocean it’s in – and I guess when we realize that, its easier to see the bigger picture – see that the things we’re anxious about are only earthly things – only temporary. But our God is forever.

Romans 8:31 : If God is for us, then who could ever stop us?