1. He’s Allowing a Health Uncertainty

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We tend to think of health and healing as God’s blessings. But God knows that sometimes we don’t truly cling to Him until we have a cancer scare, an impending surgery, or a health uncertainty we never imagined we’d have. 

When I had to wait four weeks for a biopsy on a mysterious 5-cm mass in my body that an ultrasound reported as a “very high-risk category,” it catapulted my prayer life to another level. It opened my eyes to seize the day, made me instantly grateful for every blessing I have already been given, and helped me to became more aware of God’s presence and work in every detail of my life. I also experienced during that “blessing of uncertainty” precious calls from my 86-year-old father asking how I’m doing and letting me know he shared my prayer request with another one of his Bible study or prayer groups. Never having that health scare would have been a blessing. But what I experienced during that “blessing of uncertainty” was priceless, and I wouldn’t have exchanged it for anything. 

Is something uncertain in your life right now regarding your health? If so, that’s a blessing from God, a nudge for you to lean in closer to Him and find in Him a new dependence or awareness of His presence. 

2. He’s Withholding Something You Want

In the book of First Samuel, we read of Hannah, a barren woman who longed for a child. Year after year, she tried to wait on God’s timing until she finally got desperate and poured out her heart to God and promised Him if He gave her a child she’d give him back to the Lord all the days of his life. 

Scripture tells us, “in due time, after Hannah had conceived, that she gave birth to a son…” (1 Samuel 1:20). But it wasn’t just any son. And it wasn’t at just any time. God gave her a son she named Samuel, who became Israel’s greatest prophet and priest, anointed the first two kings of Israel, and helped change the heart of a nation. 

All those years, Hannah thought God was withholding a baby from her. God wasn’t saying “no,” He was really saying, “Wait, I have something far better for you than what you asked for.” Hannah just wanted to be a mom, but God wanted so much more for Hannah. Hannah wanted a baby that was all hers, but God wanted Hannah to be all His. Sometimes, God’s “no” isn’t really “no” after all. It’s “not yet.” Trust Him in the withholding because He may be waiting to bless your life with something far better than you have asked for.” 

Timothy Keller once said, “God will only give you what you would have asked for if you knew everything He knows.”

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