God isn’t a vending machine.

Have you ever prayed about something and you THOUGHT your prayer wasn't answered?

This last year I struggled with that. I would pray for a “thorn” to be taken away, but you can probably guess that it wasn't just taken away instantly. I didn't understand at the time why this thorn I would be asking to be taken away would just not disappear. Matthew clearly states that with God all things are possible. So does He just want me to suffer? No, of course not! Yes, all things are possible with God, but maybe that was the point. Maybe He wanted me to have a thorn to learn a valuable lesson and grow closer to Him. Humans can't always teach us a life lesson. Yes, people tell us things, but God is a better teacher that shows us more truth.

During my thorn, in the past, I was focused on Mark 11:24, which says “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” This doesn't mean you get what you want. This verse can easily be taken out of context. This passage most likely is saying to put your trust in God, and pray for HIS will. Don’t pray for what you want, but pray for what He wants and that you will have eyes to see what is happening through it. Prayer is NOT for us to just go and get what we want. A wise friend told me that God is not a vending machine. You do not just put the quarter in and then poof; you have what you want. Your thorn is removed. It took a bit for this to actually sink in. So what could I have been praying for if God isn't a vending machine? Well, I started praying for wisdom and peace. Yes, that does sound like I was praying for what I wanted, but James 1:5 contradicts that. The verse says  “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” 

This does not say that whatever you want will be given to you. It says wisdom will be given. Want to know where to find it? Your Bible! That is the place where I found wisdom, and though reading the Bible doesn't just pull out a thorn, it does help guide you through it.

Paul had many (as he so called) thorns. He prayed three times for these thorns to be taken away and God said “no.” He says that he had these thorns because God's grace is sufficient. Because God's power is made better in weakness. Well isn't that true? We don't always just become more spiritually mature by constant goodness. If we have only good things surrounding us then we will not learn. Of course, we can show gratitude for constant goodness, but we easily take it for granted. Though, since we, unfortunately, live in a fallen world we don't have everything perfect. So, I am now thankful for trials because it brings us closer to the Lord. 

Verse 9 of the scripture I read said that God told Paul that His grace is sufficient. That His power was made stronger in weakness. That is very, very, true, too! If you've gone through a personal struggle then you would understand that at the end- hopefully.

While I was struggling with this thorn, and not understanding why God wasn't answering my prayers, I didn't realize what goodness would come out of it. A mentor kept saying that something good will happen. I honestly thought that was ridiculous. Like how could something amazing come out of suffering? Well, I FINALLY accepted that instead of praying to God like a vending machine. I focused on praying that I can be an encouragement, and that my eyes would stay focused on the Lord, and- as I already said- wisdom.  I grew closer to the Lord through this time. Paul says his thorns kept him humble. Your thorns can turn out for good too, but maybe in other various ways. I hope all of you too will learn to be grateful for every circumstance too, whether it is bad or good. Paul, too, was grateful for his thorn in his flesh.

-Bryar Engelhardt