Devotional

Devotionals Archive

Has God Forgotten?

Jun 11, 2021

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. – Philippians 4:6

 A while back, I went through a trial that weighed heavily on my heart. I had prayed about the situation many
times, but it seemed that after each prayer, rather than leave it with God I would carefully file away the problem under “Burdens Too Heavy.” It was
as though I had carried this burden for so long that I had grown attached to it; it was part of me. At work, I mulled over the various details, even
though I had been over them before and there was nothing new to consider. At home, it played before my eyes in slow motion so often that while my husband
was talking I would not hear what he was saying. At bedtime, I tucked it under my pillow where it entered even my dreams. I wondered why God had not
done anything about it.

As time passed, and the “file” appeared to grow thicker, as though something had been added, and it felt heavier until I could not carry it any longer.
I cried out to God, “Oh, why will You not solve this problem or remove this burden”? Then He opened my eyes and I saw:

As children bring their broken toys, with tears, for us to mend,
I brought my broken dreams to God, because He was my friend.
But then instead of leaving Him in peace to work alone,
I hung around and tried to help with ways that were my own.
At last, I snatched them back and cried, “How could you be so slow?”
“My child,” He said, “What could I do? You never did let go.”


-Author unknown

Finally, I realized that to receive God’s help, I needed to give my burden to Him and let go. I could not continue dwelling on it constantly and trying
to find the solution myself; I needed to simply trust God to work it out. That day, I let go and found relief in knowing that God would take care of
me.

If we have a burden that seems to not go away no matter how we pray, perhaps we need to just let go. God wants to work on our behalf, but we must let Him
do it!