This morning, I had the opportunity to watch some dear friends of the family test for their next belts in Taekwondo. Allison, Bethany, AND their dad, Gary all tested and moved on to their next belt. Way to go you guys!
It’s crazy to think that this would happen in a situation like this, but God revealed something to me about His faithfulness while I was watching different people test for their belts. See, in Taekwondo, in order to move up to the next belt, you have to break a board with either your hand or foot (maybe head too, I just didn’t see that one). There are other things you need to do in the testing, but the final part is breaking the board.
As I watched people break the wood, it looked easy for some and more difficult for others. During the testing of one of the levels, all the students started breaking their boards. One by one they started receiving their belts and moving off the mats, until there were only a few left. One lady was having a particularly hard time breaking her board. She gets ready…kicks…and nothing. At this point, people are starting to cheer her on. She prepares herself again…kicks…and again, nothing. I’m sure the pressure is building by this time, but so is the encouragement. People all around her are getting louder and encouraging more and more. She kicks! And the board cracks in two! Cheers erupt from all around!! I didn’t even know this lady, but I was excited for her!
That was when it hit me. Sometimes it seems like this is what God does with us. The anticipation building up made it even more exciting when she was finally able to break her board. Those who broke their boards on the first try hardly received any applause, but when it was harder for someone, people seemed happier for them when they were able to break their boards. I think there are times when God does this with us. Often times we pray and wonder why God doesn’t answer us right away. But when we pray continually about something for a long period of time, we’re that much more thankful for it when He answers those prayers. I think that when God withholds something from us for a while, it builds our faith so that
when He answers our prayers, we
know it’s from Him!
God IS faithful! He will provide all we need according to His glorious riches!
