March 23: Of Answered Prayers and Obedience

Numbers 36:1 - Deuteronomy 1:46

Luke 5:29-6:11

Psalm 66:1-20

Proverbs 11:24-26

The Lord, through Moses: "This is how inheritance is going to work."

Clan of Gilead: "But what about Zelophehad's daughters?  If they marry into other clans, the land will pass into those clans, diminishing our inheritance."

The Lord, through Moses: "Good point.  So to fix that, Zelophehad's daughters may only marry within their father's tribal clan."

If that had been today, there would have been one more line in the dialogue:

Zelophehad's daughters: "Ok.  Wait, what?!?"

If I was one of Zelophehad's daughters, I would have wanted to be able to marry whomever I wanted, AND keep my inheritance.  I would have struggled to understand why God was resolving the issue so painfully this way, when there was a perfectly good way where I could get everything I wanted.  

I am not one of Zelophehad's daughters from long before the time of Christ; I am a man in his fifties living in Connecticut.  But I share their hypothetical struggle.  Often I come to God asking Him to fix a problem for me; in my mind, I know the solution I want.  And often God gives me something else, something that restricts me or burdens me in some way I didn't think was necessary.  I am frustrated and angry, forgetting I don't get to pick the solution; I get to decide whether or not to accept it.  Whether or not to obey.  

Father, we pray for ourselves, for our nation, and for our world.  Forgive us for the times when You answer our prayers and we reject Your solutions.  Remind us of the completeness of Your knowledge, the perfection of Your wisdom, and the fullness of Your love for us.  And when we struggle with Your commands, help us to obey.