When What You Prayed for Comes with Challenges

For a wide door of opportunity for effectual [service] has opened to me [there, a great and promising one], and [there are] many adversaries.

1 Corinthians 16:9, AMPC

Sometimes I wish Scripture read differently.

I sometimes wonder what it would have been like if Jesus had said, “In this world, once you become My follower, you won’t have any trouble,”

Wouldn’t that have been nice? But that isn’t what John 16:33 says. And sometimes, even when we have received the very thing for which we have been praying, here comes trouble, chasing us down.

I was sitting at my desk, with four Word documents, an Excel spreadsheet, and nine tabs open on my computer, and countless tabs open in my head. There was a manuscript awaiting formatting, another project waiting on launch team feedback, a review I needed to finish, and a blog post quietly tapping its foot in the corner of my mind because the first of the month was coming again.

None of it was bad. In fact, it was work I had prayed for. But I am learning that what you prayed for can still stretch you once it arrives.

The Weight of Answered Prayer

Overwhelm does not always come because we are being disobedient. It doesn’t always come because we are distracted by the gazillion things vying for our attention, careless, or outside God’s will, either.

Sometimes overwhelm comes from carrying blessings that matter deeply. A full calendar. Meaningful work. Family responsibilities. Ministry opportunities. A home and yard to care for. People to love. Decisions to make. Precious little ones with peanut butter-smeared mouths stretching up for a sloppy kiss on the cheek right when you’ve finally found your train of thought. Another grocery order to place. One more last-minute errand to run. One more email to answer. And then you forgot it was Wednesday and missed church… again.

Sometimes the very things that leave us feeling weary are the very things we spent years praying to have! Work, family, ministry, and obedience to God can overlap. It is beautiful. And it can be exhausting.

Good Morning, Lord

I recently read a book by Jennifer Dukes Lee called, How to Love Your Mornings, and one simple practice has changed many of my mornings. She encourages readers to ask God what He wants them to do that morning.

I wrote two sentences on a chalkboard hanging on my side of the bed so I can see it every day. There are still mornings I jump straight into my day without giving them a thought. Then there are days like last Wednesday.

Last Wednesday was a day like any other. I wished my husband a good morning and rolled to my side to get out of bed. Then I saw the chalkboard, told God “Good morning” and asked Him what He wanted me to do that day.

Funny enough, I felt a gentle whisper that surprised me.

Work from rest. Work with joy.

I guess I hadn’t really expected Him to answer (a message for another day). But on that morning, since He spoke and I heard, I decided after my morning rituals, I’d do some digging into what He said.

Quiet Time Revelations

I sat with my Bible, phone, notebook, and pencil, and wrote the words He’d spoken so I wouldn’t forget them. As a stared at the sentences, my eyes gravitated to the word work. He’d said it twice. I didn’t feel the need to research them or feel He was correcting me for working. That was a relief. Afterall, I had clients, responsibilities, and real things that needed to be done.

Oddly enough, it was the words in the middle that I felt pulled to look up. Prepositions. Function words. Word nerd that I am, I looked them up in one of my favorite books: a dictionary. When I found the definition for from and with that best fit the sentences He spoke, I looked up the words in a Bible search engine to find their first uses.

The first use of from was in Genesis, in the story of Creation. But the first time it was used in a similar way that He spoke it to me was Genesis 2:2.

And by the seventh day God completed His work which He had done,
and He rested (ceased) on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.
Genesis 2:2, AMP

You can’t make this stuff up. If you know me well at all, you probably think this is as funny as I did.

I like to rest. I am just not usually good at knowing when I should rest. My husband, children, most of my friends, and a few former bosses can confirm this. There is always something that can be done, that needs to be done, and that I feel responsible to do.

Have I ever told you I am a work in progress?

Well, I am.

For sure.

Where Do We Go From Here

Sometimes the things we prayed for still require order, wisdom, and a deep breath.

I almost live by my calendar. I schedule everything important because while I may still miss something, if it isn’t in my calendar, the likelihood of missing it rises dramatically.

But an area I am still growing in is holding to scheduled days of rest.

Order before blessing, right?

But what if everything is in order? What if you have a plan and you are working the plan, but you still feel overwhelmed?

You are doing what you’re supposed to be doing. You’re obeying His direction. You are living in the very thing for which you’ve prayed. And still, there are moments when you want to chuck it all to the side and take a vacation.

Maybe you’ve been there, too.

Maybe you prayed for the family, the opportunity, the open door, the ministry, the business, the home, the relationship, or the chance to finally do what God put in your heart. And now that you are carrying it, you sometimes wonder why something so prayed for can feel so heavy.

In This World You Will Have Trouble

I suppose those very human, very normal feelings are why John recorded Jesus saying we would have trouble in this world.

Jesus knew we would face discouragement while walking out daily life. Trouble still comes when we are being obedient. It still comes when we are living with the very things we’ve prayed for. And it still comes when we are resting, joyful, and doing all the right things.

Even then, troubles come.

And knowing that it would, Jesus gave us the hope we’d need to make it through moments of overwhelm:

But be courageous [be confident, be undaunted, be filled with joy]; I have overcome the world. [My conquest is accomplished, My victory abiding.]
John 16:33b, AMPC

An Open Door Can Still Have Opposition

Trouble is not always a sign that you made a mistake.

Sometimes it’s a sign that you are doing exactly what God is calling you to do. It is possible that the assignment God gave you will have such an impact for the Kingdom of God that the enemy is fighting you tooth and nail to keep you discouraged, distracted, or convinced you should quit.

Perhaps this is why Jesus tells us to be courageous, confident, undaunted, and filled with joy.

Paul knew a thing or two about troubles, too. In a letter to the church of Corinth, he wrote about a promising ministry opportunity. The AMP version calls it “a very promising opportunity” (1 Corinthians 16:9). But the verse didn’t end with the exciting news of an open door, however. It ends with this: “and there are many adversaries.”

The Message paraphrases it this way:

For the present, I’m staying right here in Ephesus.
A huge door of opportunity for good work has opened up here.
(There is also mushrooming opposition.)
1 Corinthians 16:9, MSG

David Guzik’s commentary on this passage states, “Paul also knew that opposition often accompanies opportunities.”[i] I find the phrase from The Message about opposition interesting: mushrooming opposition. Mushrooms grow from spores too tiny to see with your eyes, and feed on decaying matter. Doesn’t opposition sometimes feel just like that? Quiet at first. Almost invisible. Then suddenly it seems to have spread everywhere, feeding old fears, doubts, insecurities and lies you thought you’d overcome.

But opposition doesn’t get the final word. God does.

God Gives Grace for the Assignment

Here is where I want to leave you.

No matter what your calling or season of life looks like, God gives you grace for it.

He doesn’t grace you for the imaginary version of your life. He does not grace you only for the calm, clean, orderly, not-a-care-in-the-world version of your calling. God gives you grace for the real thing. Grace for the full calendar, the open door, and the interruptions. Grace for the decision, pressure, and the obedience that feels heavier than you expected. He gives grace for the trouble. Every day, there are new mercies for the season you are actually in.

So when you are being obedient and the distractions come, there is grace for that. When you are working hard and the emails, deadlines, and family pressures feel overwhelming, there is grace for that, too.

Real obedience doesn’t have a perfect outline from start to finish because real life is messy. It is filled with interruptions, struggles, decisions, delays, and moments when you have to ask God all over again, “What do You want me to do today?”

But God has a perfect plan to use it all in ways we may never see coming.

The Perfect Answer

God isn’t waiting for the perfect version of my schedule before asking me to obey. He is only asking for my faithful “amen” to His call. The perfect answer is always “yes” to His plan. My yes combining with His call. Your yes combining with His call.

So what is your next faithful step?

When everything pulls at you, when everything seems full already, and when everything feels important, wisdom helps you ask Him, “God, what do you want me to do today?”

And even if it that one step seems small, that step of faith still counts.

If the thing you prayed for comes with challenges, take heart. God is not confused by the pressure, timing, or responsibility attached to your open door. Ask Him for wisdom for each step you need to take, then take it with Him.

The challenges you face don’t mean His hand is absent.

It may simply mean the yes is asking you to grow.

Prayer:

Father, thank You for the open doors in my life. When feelings overwhelm me, I pray my mind stays focused on You and the call You’ve given me. I won’t compare my progress to someone else’s call and I won’t quit when challenges come. Help me to recognize what I need to do today and what can wait. Give me wisdom to know what to do and peace to guide every faithful step You prepared for me. I trust You with everything that is in me. Thank You for loving me. In Jesus’ name, amen.

References:

[i] Guzik, D. “Study Guide for 1 Corinthians 16 by David Guzik.” Blue Letter Bible. Last Modified 6/2022. https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/guzik_david/study-guide/1-corinthians/1-corinthians-16.cfm

All Scripture quotations unless otherwise marked are taken from the Amplified® Bible, Copyright ©1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.Lockman.org

Scripture quotations marked (MSG) are taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

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