715) It’s easy to have a certain idea of how we want God to respond to us. If we pray for healing, we are often asking solely for the restoration within our bodies. If we ask for a job, we might expect God to give us a position we had in mind. If we ask for money, we can sometimes have a certain amount in mind as well as the way it needs to come our way.

But, what if God’s idea of healing is to strengthen our prayer life? What if the job He wants for us is menial and underappreciated? What if we ask for money and God provides only enough to get by? All of these things teach us that God has a plan that is often far out of our thought pattern. In 2 Samuel 22:1-2, David praises God for being his deliverer. We can read this, nod and smile. But, if we look at the context of David’s actions, we see that the Philistines are at it again, plotting to kill off the king and people of Israel. What we see here is that David fought with these formidable enemies multiple times. When he thanks God for delivering him, it was not a situation where David prayed and God delivered. Instead, David had to fight multiple times with his enemies and even though he had to do this, he still thanks God for deliverance. Why? Because David knew that God’s plan of deliverance may not line up with his – that wasn’t the point. Deliverance is deliverance and it’s rarely free.