Volume 38: Don’t Talk Yourself Out of Your Blessing

Day 142 Devotional

DON’T TALK YOURSELF OUT OF YOUR BLESSING

One of the easiest things to do when life becomes difficult is to begin questioning God. We may never say those questions out loud, but they begin forming in our hearts. Where is God? Why hasn’t He answered? Does He even see what I’m going through? Why does it seem like everyone else is moving forward while I remain stuck?

The longer a struggle lasts, the louder those questions become. What makes this dangerous is that our circumstances can become so overwhelming that we lose awareness of God’s presence. We begin measuring God’s faithfulness by what we see instead of what He has promised. That is exactly what happened to Zacharias.

WHEN DISAPPOINTMENT BECOMES YOUR PERSPECTIVE

The Bible describes Zacharias and Elizabeth as righteous before God. They loved Him, served Him, and walked faithfully before Him. Yet they carried a deep disappointment. They had no child.

Year after year they prayed. Year after year they waited. Year after year they watched time pass while their prayers seemed unanswered.

Anyone who has carried a long-term burden understands what often happens next. Disappointment slowly begins shaping our perspective. We stop expecting. We stop believing. We stop looking for God to move. We may continue attending church, praying, and serving, but somewhere deep inside hope begins to fade.

The danger is not always rebellion. Sometimes it is resignation. We quietly lower our expectations and convince ourselves that what God once promised is no longer possible.

YHWH SHAMMAH

One of the names of God is YHWH Shammah, meaning, “The LORD Is There.”

Most believers do not struggle with believing God exists. We struggle with living as though He is present. We invite Him into our emergencies but often exclude Him from our routines. We acknowledge Him when the diagnosis comes back positive, when the bills pile up, when the marriage is struggling, when the children are hurting, or when life suddenly falls apart. Yet on ordinary days, we move through life carrying anxiety, stress, frustration, fear, loneliness, and disappointment as though we are facing it all by ourselves.

Many of us spend our days rehearsing worst-case scenarios, carrying burdens we were never designed to carry, and allowing fear to dominate conversations that should have been surrendered to prayer. We become consumed with what might happen tomorrow while forgetting that God is present today.

The tragedy is not that God has abandoned us. The tragedy is that we often become so distracted, wounded, disappointed, and self-reliant that we fail to acknowledge the presence of the One who promised never to leave us nor forsake us.

YHWH Shammah reminds us that God is not merely present during church services, revivals, or prayer meetings. He is present in the doctor’s office, in the courtroom, in the workplace, in the lonely apartment or house, in the difficult marriage, and during the sleepless nights when no one else knows what we are carrying. He is present when tears fall in private and when burdens feel too heavy to bear.

WHEN GOD HAS BEEN THERE ALL ALONG

While Zacharias was serving in the temple, an angel appeared and made an astonishing announcement:

“Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard…” (Luke 1:13)

Notice what the angel did not say. He did not say God had finally noticed him. He did not say God had finally started listening. He did not say God had finally arrived. God had been there the entire time.

He was there through every year of waiting. He was there through every unanswered question. He was there through every moment of disappointment. He was there through every silent tear.

The problem was never God’s absence. The problem was that years of disappointment had become more real to Zacharias than the presence of God.

When the angel announced the promise, Zacharias immediately responded, “Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man…” (Luke 1:18).

God spoke possibility, but Zacharias spoke limitations. God spoke promise, but Zacharias spoke circumstances. God spoke blessing, but Zacharias responded with reasons why the blessing could not happen.

His greatest obstacle was no longer his age. His greatest obstacle was his perspective.

DON’T TALK YOURSELF OUT OF YOUR BLESSING

How often do we do exactly what Zacharias did?

We pray for restoration and then explain why the relationship can never heal. We pray for provision and then rehearse every reason our finances cannot improve. We pray for healing and then spend more time magnifying the diagnosis than the Healer. We pray for open doors and then convince ourselves why every opportunity will fail.

Without realizing it, we begin arguing against the very answers we have been asking God to provide. We allow fear to speak louder than faith, disappointment to speak louder than hope, and circumstances to speak louder than God’s promises.

YHWH Shammah reminds us that God’s presence is not determined by our awareness of Him. He is there when we feel Him and when we do not. He is there when answers come quickly and when the waiting seems endless. He is there when faith feels strong and when disappointment has weakened our expectations.

The next time you are tempted to focus on what has not happened, remember this truth: the greatest evidence of God’s faithfulness is not always found in an immediate answer. Sometimes it is found in the reality that through every delay, every disappointment, every unanswered question, and every difficult season, the LORD, YHWH Shammah was there all along.