Our Prayers; God's Answers

 I was delighted to find a $100 gift card for Macy’s when I looked in a drawer for something else. My husband, Bill, gave me that card for Christmas a couple years ago. Then Covid struck, and I never spent it. So off we went on a shopping spree, and I found a spring coat for $130. I handed the checkout clerk my gift card and credit card, and she said I owed $120 on my credit card.

 “Oh,” I said. “The gift card is for $100.” She looked at her register again and informed me the gift card had only $10 left on it. Then I remembered. I bought shoes with that card and forgot to mark the remaining balance on the card’s envelope.

 It gets better. The little square envelope containing the gift card also held a Macy’s credit card. I had searched and searched for that card. I finally considered it lost and got a new one.

 I then bought a pair of slacks and walked to the exit. Bill had stayed in the car. Only problem was, I couldn’t find the exit that led to that parking lot. I asked a clerk, and she led me to doors that led to steps. I had not come in doors with steps. She continued to lead me around this maze of a store, and I finally got out and happily dropped into our car. According to my watch, I had walked .8 of a mile that morning. And I’m sure .79 was at Macy’s.

 Life can be complicated. And that’s just a silly example. How about the complications that come from facing inoperable cancer or recovering from major injuries or fleeing from bombs with nowhere to go?

 I’ve been reading David’s psalms. Can you imagine growing up a shepherd boy and then being anointed to be king? Can you imagine killing a giant and then being appointed to play a lyre to sooth King Saul’s anxiety attacks? Can you imagine how, after all that, you would feel when the king turned on you and threatened your life?

 Of the 73 psalms attributed to David, 13 can be linked to incidents in his life. For four years, this anointed shepherd boy, this anointed king, was on the run from a jealous King Saul. And David waited 15 years to become king of Judah and seven more to reign over all of Israel. Talk about a journey in faithfulness.

 In the psalms, David denounced his enemies and prayed for their demise. But even though God did not immediately answer, David praised God. During those long, challenging years, David praised God for His creation, for His protection and for His provision. He celebrated a God who was there for Him.

 Psalm 22 begins with David asking why God dumped him miles from nowhere. He laments the “herds of bulls” that come at him, “horns lowered, nostrils flaring.” But he then praises God, not for what He does but for who He is:

 “Shout Hallelejah, you God worshipers; give glory, you sons of Jacob; adore him, you daughters of Israel. He has never let you down, never looked the other way when you were being kicked around . . . . He has been right there, listening” (Psalm 22:23-24 The Message).

 And that same God is listening to us. Just as I could not find my way out of Macy’s, we may not find our way out of the maze of life as quickly as we want. But whether God answers now or then, here or there, He is with us, and that is enough. We praise Him not for what He does but for who He is as Lord of the universe.