Hope Prayer

Hindsight Now.

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for,
the conviction of things not seen.
Hebrews 11:1

 

I made flour into bread this week.  Not just bread… Home-stinkin’-made-cinnamon-rolls.  I feel like if we can believe in yeast, we should surely be able to believe in God.  Friends, this is supernatural.  But, in hindsight, I should not have eaten seven of them in two days.  #mytummyhatesme

The day I encountered adolescent German boys throwing snow balls at my sweet little yorkie outside the grocery store, and then–while 7 months pregnant–HUNTED THEM DOWN, cornered them in a random yard and made one child an example by throwing placing him on the ground?  In hindsight, I should have followed them home and covertly haunted them for weeks.  #waystoavoidprison

And there’s that time we mindfully took our toddler children to a hoity-toity restaurant in France–the country where children are expected to behave like grown-ups in McDonalds.  In hindsight, I should have plucked my eyeballs out first.  #wantedinanothercountry

hind·sight – (Urban Dictionary) ˈhīn(d)ˌsīt:  Noun.  An individual has a realization about the event that should have been obvious all along, yet they didn’t catch on because they were acting in the heat of the moment. 

Now please pay attention: this is about to get good…

In the same way that you’ve (clearly) had the whole Genie-in-a-Bottle-3-wishes-scenario planned out since you were a kid:

Wish #1: ENDLESS WISHES (duh).  #disneycharactershavetinybrains

We have available a full-proof way to pray:

Dear Father, I’m asking you for HINDSIGHT, right now.  #crystalballsdontbeatjesus

What if we asked for the gift of hindsight at the START of the day/decision/job/conversation/move/season/out-of-my-comfortzone-moment, and didn’t wait to grab it at the end, when it rarely carries value?

It shouldn’t surprise us, but God’s been telling us to live like this all along:

“Now FAITH IS the assurance (title deed, confirmation) of things hoped for (divinely guaranteed), and the evidence of things not seen [the conviction of their reality—faith comprehends as fact what cannot be experienced by the physical senses].” (AMP) Hebrews 11:1

Maybe our past experience, as seen through the lens of Christ, can be applied to understanding our future truths – RIGHT NOW.

Truths like the move to Europe for just one year (which turned into 13).  In hindsight, I see my fear and His faithfulness, my mistakes and His grace, my limitations and His adventure, my loneliness and His friendship, my inadequacies and His confidence.

The college I was denied entrance into 3 times?  In hindsight, I see my IQ and His brilliance, my rejection and His sovereignty, my entitlement and His omniscience, my husband and His path.

The unformed aorta that nearly killed my tiny firstborn son?  In hindsight, I see my despair and His promise, my anger and His steadfastness, my tears and His arms, my baby and His plan.

Now try it out in your life.

Looking back, do you see past your fear, your mistakes, your rejection, your despair?  Does the proof of God’s constant steady hand rise far above it all?

Exercise your hindsight in a way that can be applied as foresight.  The beauty of God’s faithfulness to us is often found in the OVERALL lesson, where the dark valleys are filled-in and the high mountains laid flat.  Where extremes are not detours and uncertainty is not set-back.

Your Holy Spirit instincts will be your guide.  If you hear, “Do it!”, no matter what it looks like now or how hard it feels, your knowledge of who the Father is will tell you NOW that this move is going to be worth it.  So live like it is.

And if you hear, “walk away”, then you need to Run, Forest, Run, because no matter how convinced you are that you know better than the Father this time, your prayer for hindsight is already proving you otherwise.

If our faith is the conviction of things not seen, then we can have hindsight for the things not yet experienced.

So, is your present circumstance worth it?  The dark days?  The awkward conversation?  The waiting for what you’ve been promised?  The one-foot-in-front-of-the-other season?  The sacrifices?  The effort?  The loss?

Let me gift you some truthful hindsight for the right-now.  YES.  YES, YES, AND YES!!!  It IS worth it.  It is good.  It is purpose-filled.  It has victory.  It has an end!  And God will give you the ability to celebrate before the party-invites go to print.  Grab your conviction for the things not yet seen in your life and start living like you really do trust this God you serve.  Pray for hindsight.  Pray for the ability to look AHEAD and say, “Wow, I can see how faithful He has been!”

“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.”  John 16:13

#knowinggodisprettyrockin

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