Virtuous Daughters

Understanding Yahweh’s Answers

There were times when I felt like the only answer Yahweh ever gave me was “no” (“Is this my purpose?” “No” “Is this what You want me doing?” “No” etc).  Although I would be tempted to either get discouraged or, worse yet, upset about it, I would remember something someone once told me: if Yahweh doesn’t seem to be answering you it could be because He already has and you are either, rejecting or ignoring, His answer. I would then go to Yahweh with an open ear, asking Him if this was what was wrong, and if so to please show me what His answer was, and why I missed it (so I could hopefully avoid doing so in the future). More often than not, when all I seemed to be getting were no’s, this was my problem.

You see, we all have preconceived ideas of what we want to do with our lives, where we want to go, who we want to be, and how we are going to do these things, etc. as well as ideas of what Yahweh wants us to do with our lives, where, why, when , how, etc. So, when He would lead me in a way that didn’t match up with my expectation of His will for me, than unfortunately it was very easy for me to dismiss it as not being from Him or to simply overlook it altogether. That is why it was so important for me to come to Him with an “empty slate” and an open mind, doing my best to throw out all of my earlier thoughts, opinions, impressions, expectations, etc.

An example of a preconceived opinion of Yahweh’s will for me that I had to lay aside in order to hear what His will for me really was, was the opinion that as a single girl I needed to spend that time of singleness as a time of wholeheartedly preparing for  marriage. You see, we need to be prepared if we are to get married, but that was/is not the purpose of my single years, any more than it is the purpose of the rest of my life. It was not supposed to be a consuming thought, or the basis of everything I did. Yahweh has something else He wants me to do with this time in my life besides just preparing for marriage (and quite frankly, the more I learn, the more I am convinced that one of the best ways to prepare for your future is to focus on and do the things Yahweh calls you to do with your life today).Until I had surrendered this preconceived idea to Yahweh I was not ready to hear or accept that He had something else for me to do with my life at this time.

Another thing I learned along these lines, was that if it didn’t seem like Yahweh was answering me (and I had already made sure (like the above) it was not because He already had and I “missed” it) sometimes the problem was because it wasn’t His timing. You know, as humans it is very easy to get impatient and want everything now. But that isn’t how Yahweh works. He has a time for everything, and the proper order it all must happen in. His timing is always best, and He knows just when we will be ready (or able) to receive the answer. So, if it seems like He just isn’t answering (and you have ruled out His already having given you the answer), just relax and trust that in His time, He will give you the answer you seek. He cares about His children, and He said in James 1:5 that… “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth (*i.e. reproacheth) not; and it shall be given him.”

During this time I read a couple of books that seemed to hold some answers, so as I read them, I prayed constantly that Yahweh would help me understand if they held His wisdom for my life, or if they were going to lead me astray, again, listening for His guiding voice (what is the sense of asking Yahweh for wisdom if you don’t also listen for His answer and accept it when He gives it? Along this same line of thought, what good does it do you to ask Yahweh what His will is for your life if you aren’t willing to follow it, unless of course, it is the same as your own (which means you are following your own heart and just wanting the “clear-conscience” of having Yahweh’s signature on it)?

As I read my bible each morning, I would keep alert for Yahweh’s voice, listening, and following where He led me. Sometimes He would speak to me through a verse or passage I read, but other times Yahweh would bring another passage or something to mind, and impress on my heart that I needed to look it up. I was sometimes tempted to look it up after I was done reading the passage I was on in my devotions, but I had to remember that the purpose of reading my bible was to hear Yahweh’s voice, gain wisdom for my life, and learn how to live my life for Yahweh, so if He spoke to me and led me to another passage, I needed to follow. (Besides . . . who better than Yahweh would know where I was going to find the answers and guidance I needed?)