I was spending some quiet time this morning, thinking and writing in my journal (a daily part of my life for the past couple years) when I was convicted about not rejoicing like I should about some recent answers to prayer.

Last Thursday, God answered a 2+ year prayer request…we closed on the sale of a second home that we have had on the market for the past couple years.  Our family, friends and small groups have been praying diligently for this to happen.  In fact, in my son’s small group from church, it had become so regular that the other boys in the group could recite the request even before Lee could get the words out of his mouth.

But, I have not rejoiced like I should have….instead, I have bee focused on:

1. Look at all the money we lost (sold the house for 48% of the 2008 appraised value…OUCH)

2. The closing did not go as expected….so, who should be held accountable?

3. We did not net the amount I had projected for closing when we signed the contract…now…how do we cover our expenses

4. We still have furniture to move out of the house…how are we going to coordinate all of that?  Seems like a burden.

5. Look at all the money we lost…OOOPS, I guess I already said that…but it still hurts

I have focused on all the “what ifs” and “could/should of been” items and took my eyes off of the fact that God answered our prayers…in a time that the real estate market is in the tank, God brought us a buyer for a home in a vacation  setting, in a price range that is not seeing any transactions. What is up with that?!?!?!?

My wife and I believe that our son (one of our 14 year old triplets…please pray for us) is an angel from heaven.  His sensitivity to spiritual items is remarkable and has been that way his entire life.  I wish I had his faith and connection with God. As mentioned earlier, he has had his small group pray for this for months….but in addition, he has personally prayed for this every night that I can remember for the past 2 years.  Even at 14, he and I share private time together before bedtime and he leads out in prayer…and the sale of the house was always on his list.  So…this week he and I were in the car and he asked me how I was doing with the issues that had consumed me about the closing (the list from above).  He then looked over at me and said, “But dad, this is such an answer to our prayers. We need to be rejoicing and thanking God for answering our prayers”.  WOW…from the mouth of babes…

In that moment, the Holy Spirit gripped my heart and soul and convicted me of not rejoicing and praising him for an answer to prayer.  It took my 14 year old son to be the vehicle that God used to prick my heart and set my mind free of the “what if” thinking…the self-consumption and pity party that I was wallowing in.  It also made me think about how grateful that I am that my son was able to witness first hand the move of God in our lives and see the answer to prayers that he had been a part in.    How cool is that?

So…I release the above list…and I am committed to rejoice in the Lord for all He has done.  I will rejoice in answered prayer.

How about you?  What do you need to do this week to shift your thinking and your praise?

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Tags: Christian life, church, church building, Construction Management, facilities, facilities management, facility management