[This reflection by David Makanjuola was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 19/Oct/2025]
As I write this, it has been a very eventful few days. After two years of turmoil, hardship and heartache, the ceasefire has come into effect between Israel and the people in Gaza. Many people played a part behind the scenes in negotiations to end the conflict and get the hostages home, President Trump being very significant in getting things across the line.
There is jubilation for the families re-united with their loved ones, but it is also bitter-sweet for those who have lost family and friends on both sides. Within, and, outside Israel, many people have spent time in prayer, asking for God’s mercy and that a peaceful resolution would come quickly. There will be questions as to why it has taken this long, and why so many have died. At some point, some may have wondered whether God was listening at all.
There may be other instances in your life where you have been praying for something and your prayers either haven’t been answered (yet), or not in the way you had expected. There is so much we don’t know about God, but in the Bible He has provided us with enough and asks us to trust Him with the rest.
Think of yourself as someone who has been given one piece of a large jigsaw puzzle, but not the whole picture, so you can’t really tell where it fits in. God sees the whole picture. The prophet Isaiah tells us that God says:
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
Isaiah 55 v8-9 [NIVUK]
God is sovereign. He will do what He chooses. We won’t always understand, and that can be frightening sometimes, except that He reassures us that:
In His time, He makes all things beautiful
Ecclesiastes 3 v11Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning
Psalm 30 v5 [JUB]He will be with us always
Matthew 28 v20
He also lets us know that His thoughts towards us are good –
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
Jeremiah 29 v11
So, if you feel that God hasn’t done what you expected in answer to your prayers, you might be in danger of setting your own standards higher than God’s.
I, for one, am thankful that God doesn’t always give me what I ask for. Left to me, I would place the piece of the jigsaw puzzle in the wrong place. I need to trust Him to show me where it ought to be, even if I can’t see how it fits in with the whole picture.
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Last Sunday’s reflection: The Energy of Synergy by Dennis Ginter
Contributed by David Makanjuola; © David Makanjuola