Purpose Revealed

 May 25, 2023

Wednesday mornings I have breakfast and prayer with two pastor friends. Our conversation and our prayers can run all over the place, but one thing we’re sure to do is pray for each other, for each other’s families, and for our ministries. And sometimes those prayers are answered on the spot. The Bible says that God knows our needs before we even ask, and that before we speak the words the answers are on their way. Sometimes they have to fight their way through spiritual opposition (see Daniel 10:13), but the answers always come, even though sometimes the answers aren’t what we would desire. Like the good Father he is, God sometimes says, “No.”

Yesterday, Jeff (one of the two pastors) prayed that God’s purposes would be fulfilled in my planned trip to Cuba at the end of June. Immediately the fog dissipated and things became clear to me. Part of my reason for going was to attend the wedding of a young woman I got to know some years ago. She had expressed the desire to get married, but didn’t know when it could happen; they had to wait till they had some money saved up. Details got worked out,  they set the date for June 30, and I was invited.

“Wonderful!” I exclaimed. “I would love to come.” A wedding alone isn’t enough justification for the expense of going to Cuba, so I began making plans for ministry time alongside the wedding. Then I got word that they were moving the date up a week to avoid the higher costs associated with the tourist season. The prior week was out for me. One of my granddaughters graduates the same day as their new wedding plans. I was disappointed, but not disheartened, until my friend prayed God’s purposes for me. Suddenly I knew that my focus was diffused, diminished by wedding plans. When Jeff prayed, it became clear that this change of dates was God’s way of helping me focus on the only legitimate reason for me to be in Cuba. The wedding was merely God’s hook to get me there; the purpose is yet to be revealed, but when it is, I will be able to focus laser-like on the task at hand. 

The heavens didn’t part; there were no angelic choirs singing; I heard no “Thus saith the Lord.” But God spoke clearly through my brother’s prayer, which makes me even more eager to see what he has in mind.