“I DID find it! I just didn’t realize what I was looking for!” 

After three hours of searching through a large box of Lego pieces to find a back piece of a helmet for my son (talk about finding a needle in a haystack), I felt a bit defeated. I didn’t think I had found the right piece. One thing I had forgotten to do was look at a model already built to make sure I was looking for the right part. I had an idea in my mind what it was supposed to look like, but when I looked at the completed models, I realized I was wrong. I was prompted to look again in the bag set aside for all the “people parts” we found. Sure enough, I had found the right part–I just didn’t realize it in the moment.

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How many times have we prayed for something, but we already had it in our minds what the answer would look like? When we don’t see it, we believe our prayer was unheard or unanswered. Too often we forget that God’s Word is full of prayers answered, just not the way we humans expected them to be: a worldwide flood, Sarah’s pregnancy at 90 years old, Joseph being sold into slavery, the Hebrews in slavery in Egypt, the plagues of Egypt, crossing the Red Sea, manna, the Lord speaking to His people from Mount Sinai as they cowered in fear, the earth opening up to swallow the people who challenged the Lord’s anointed–and that’s just a few instances within the Torah. Throughout the Old Testament it seemed all Israel would do is disobey and rebel even when prayers were answered. In the past I would shake my head in dismay at the Israelites and ask, “How could they do such things after all they’ve seen?” Now, after getting older and making more mistakes, I read the same stories and say, “Oh Lord, how many times have I also forgotten what You’ve done for me, and yet You still forgive?” We are not so far removed from the ancient Israelites as we’d like to think.

The Israelites had been crying out for a Savior for over 400 years in Egypt, but when Moses first appeared at the Lord’s command (even though he also was afraid), they rejected their answered prayer when Pharaoh would not relent and made the work harder for the Hebrews. But God persisted, and He showed them– and the whole world– His power and might. They eventually were freed, but all too quickly they grumbled because they were hungry in the wilderness. They were willing to go back to being slaves and following what was familiar rather than trusting God. But even in that, God persisted. He provided manna and meat–all they had to do was gather the amount the Lord commanded. When they grumbled about water, the Lord provided even though they said to Moses, “Why, now, have you brought us up from Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” (Exodus 17:3). The Lord even allowed the Israelites to hear Him speak from the mountain (Ex. 19:9-20:20) so that they would know He is the Lord God and that He has chosen Moses. The Lord spoke the Ten Commandments to all the people, but the people were so terrified that they said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen; but let not God speak to us, or we will die” (Ex. 20:19). To this request Moses responded, “Do not be afraid; for God has come in order to test you, and in order that the fear of Him may remain with you, so that you may not sin” (Ex. 20:20). But it wasn’t long after that when Moses went on the mountain to meet with God that the people decided to make a golden calf to worship (even though the Lord told them directly to not make any idols). They went back to Egypt in their hearts instead of trusting the Lord they claimed to fear. They had asked for a Savior, but when they got one, they kept searching for other things to fulfill what they thought they needed.

The Israelites are often described in Scripture as disobedient and obstinate people because the Lord tells them exactly what to do to be in right-standing with Him, but they often reject it. Before Moses dies, he recounts to the Israelites–the new generation– of all the Lord has done since leading them out of Egypt. As they are about to enter the Promised Land, he reminds them three times in Deuteronomy 9:4-6 that the victories they will have over their enemies is not because of their righteousness but because of the wickedness of the people of the land. The Lord’s actions are to confirm His oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob regarding the land and their inheritance (v. 5). Through Moses, the Lord makes it abundantly clear that He is the faithful one and any action against the Lord, such as serving other idols, will result in death. And there was a lot of death for the Lord is holy, and Israel was set apart to be a holy nation; therefore, the only way to maintain holiness is to get rid of wickedness. Yet no matter how obstinate Israel became, the Lord continued to be a Father to them so that they could learn the right way:

“He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord. Your clothing did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years. Thus you are to know in your heart that the Lord your God was disciplining you just as a man disciplines his son. Therefore, you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him.” Deuteronomy 8:3-6 (NASB)

In Hebrews 12, the writer reminds Jewish Christians of the same lesson in discipline in verses 5-6 (quoting Proverbs 3:11-12):

“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,

Nor faint when you are reproved by Him;

For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines,

And He scourges every son whom He receives.”

The passage in Hebrews continues with the importance and necessity of discipline, “so that we may share His holiness” (v. 10). Is this not the same lesson He was teaching the Israelites as they came out of Egypt? The reward is also the same: “All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterward it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness” (v. 11). Righteousness, the ultimate goal that sets us apart, can only be obtained through discipline. Discipline is not a one-time moment but an intentional, ongoing practice in order to reach a specific goal. I believe this is why we struggle with it and why we often miss this as an answer to prayer. We often don’t like answers that aren’t an instantaneous result. Can God provide instantaneous results? Yes! Has He done that before? Absolutely! And any time He has or does, it’s for His glory, not ours. Yet most of the time, discipline is the answer. 

Without disciplining ourselves in studying His Word, how will we know truth? Without disciplining ourselves in prayer, how will we know His voice? Without disciplining our minds, how can we combat the enemy? Without disciplining our emotions, how can we act with wisdom and understanding? Without disciplining our flesh, how can we let go of sin in our lives? Without disciplining our desires, how can we be obedient to God’s will? While we may be like the ancient Israelites in many ways, we have the benefit of learning from their mistakes. Many of the answers to our prayers are right in front of us–but we can’t recognize them if we don’t examine the completed model first: God’s Word of truth.

~~~

To go back to my Lego story, I spent time feeling defeated because I didn’t take the time to find out what I was actually looking for. I was looking for what I imagined the part to be when all the time I had already picked it up, examined it, and set it aside to keep searching. In my Christian walk, I’ve prayed about many things and some answers have been obvious whereas many others seemed unheard or unanswered. But the Lord is so gracious to give us His Word which is truth. Any time I’ve stopped following my own idea of what an answer should look like and took time to study God’s Word, it never fails to encourage and admonish me in the right direction. The truth about trusting the Lord, knowing that He is always faithful, should always be at the forefront of my mind with each situation I face. His will is to discipline me to grow in His truth so that I can be righteous. It is not always pleasant–often it’s the opposite as Scripture says (Heb. 12) – but if I allow Him to work in me, there is only a reward and not a failure. The Word of God is the complete model so if I seek His truth first, I’ll be able to recognize His answer.

© Lauren Demuth