“You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.”
Psalm 16:11 NIV
The phone rings. It’s just the eye doctor. I send the call to voicemail and surrender to tears.
Please, Father. Give me answers.
It’s court day. I’m waiting to hear if our foster daughter will stay with us for six more months, or if she’ll go back to her biological mother.
I slide my phone over so as not to sob over the screen.
I text a veteran foster mamma, hoping she can predict the outcome. She can’t say for sure. I text another foster mama. Goodness, how about I just throw the question out to my Facebook foster group?
Someone. Must. Know.
God, please. You know. Let me know, too.
And just like that, I was a modern-day Eve—desiring answers more than I desired Abba, my Father in heaven.
Eve had the honor of walking in the cool of the evening with her Father God. She had unimaginable intimacy with the craftsman of her soul. Yet when she was offered the chance to know more—more than the presence of God—she bit.
“When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it.” Genesis 3:6 NIV
Eve traded intimacy for information. Soon after, Eve and her husband “hid themselves from the presence of the Lord among the trees of the garden.” (Genesis 3:8 NASB)
I do the same thing. Most of the time, my appetite to know what God has planned overtakes my desire to walk with Him. When He doesn’t share His plan with me, I run from Him. Sometimes I flee in anger, sometimes in shame, sometimes dragging grief, but always looking for someone else to tell me what the Lord won’t.
The trouble is, the moment we pull ourselves from the presence of the Lord, anxiety rises. We do crazy things (like sew dresses out of fig leaves), and our joy deflates. Because only in the presence of the Lord is the fullness of joy. Only by spending time with Him will He make known the path of life (Psalm 16:11). And, yes, waiting for answers is exhausting, but “those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength” (Isaiah 40:31 NASB).
I turned my phone on silent, closed my eyes, and prayed, “Father, help me to pursue your presence over understanding your purposes. I want you, Abba, more than I want answers.”
I know now that answers, knowledge, even wisdom, do not give peace. Peace is not a revelation; peace is a person. Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace.
“The Lord replied, ‘My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.’” Exodus 33:14 NIV
By Jenna Masters