?We?ll see,? I said, and heard my daughter sigh. She knew what that meant, just as I knew when my mother said it to me when I was her age. It meant the answer was probably ?no.? It meant my mother didn?t want to come right out and say that word, but was leaning strongly in that direction. It meant she had some serious doubts about letting me do whatever it was I had requested. It meant she?d talk it over with my dad and then have the added weight and authority of his ?no? to back her up. When my mother said, ?We?ll see,? it meant we wouldn?t.

Sometimes it feels like God is doing that. He won?t give a direct answer, but we can tell we are not going to like it when He does. Sometimes, as we wait for the answer, we have little hope that things will turn out the way we would like them to. We are reluctant to believe that God wants to say, ?yes.? We see him as a parent whose lips are permanently shaped in the form of the ?n? word.

But God?s letter to us, the letter that was written down thousands of years ago, tells us differently. The Scriptures tell us that God sings over us and delights in us. He longs to give us good things. He tried to convince His disciples of this when he walked and talked with them while he was on earth. Jesus said ? ?Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!? (Matthew 7:9-11)

?Well, then, you ask, why isn?t there a Porsche sitting in my drive way??

There would be, if a Porsche was what was needed to help others and bring glory to God.

Look at the next verse in Matthew 9 ? ?In everything, do to others what you would have them do to you?? (v.12). Suddenly the focus is not on the one asking for gifts, but on others around him who should be receiving them from his hands. Jesus is saying, look to the needs of others and your needs will be taken care of. He always taught us to have an outward view ? look to others before looking to ourselves. In that way He is honoured and we are blessed. He will never fail to give us whatever we need to accomplish that purpose, because it is His purpose.

Perhaps, then, when we think we are hearing God say, ?We?ll see,? we are hearing Him say, ?examine your motives.? Perhaps then, we should ask ourselves that bottom line question ? will this bring glory to God, or glory to me?

Marcia Laycock is a pastor's wife and freelance writer living in Alberta Canada.  Her devotional book, The Spur of the Moment has been endorsed by Janette Oke, Phil Callaway and others.  To order, and to view more of Marcia's writing, see her web site - www.vinemarc.com
Copyright Marcia Lee Laycock, 2000, 2001,2002,2003,2004,2005,2006