Perhaps God Won’t but Perhaps God Will

Perhaps God won’t but perhaps, sweet friend, God will…

When we were dating, my husband tried to win me a bear at the amusement park. I would hate to know how much money he wasted on all the games he lost. Nevertheless, he kept trying for a chance that “perhaps” he would get lucky and impress me with the stuffed bear I had my eye on.

Over the years, I, too, have had my share of perhaps. Things I worked tirelessly on, just hoping to have favored results. Some things worked out, while others didn’t. Some came with regrets when they didn’t work out. Others I was relieved when they didn’t.

What would you be willing to do for a “perhaps”? Would you step out in complete obedience if asked to do something if you weren’t given a guarantee of the outcome? Would you put your life on the line even if you weren’t given an assurance that the person you desperately wanted to reach would change or even care?

Acting on a perhaps is like a contract you are asked to sign without ever being told the end result. So much of the time, God asks us to be obedient for a perhaps. We easily imagine our outcomes and end results, but often things work out differently than we imagine. And when they do so often, we become disappointed.

So let me encourage you with this…

Though we face many “perhaps” in this world without a single guarantee, we do have a 100% guarantee with God on others. Things like, “Those that put their trust in the Lord will not be disappointed.” Romans 10:11. And also of Isaiah 50:7 that says, “Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore I have set my face like a stone, and I KNOW I will not be put to shame,” just to name a few.

Yes, there will always be those heart-wrenching situations that we will walk through without knowing our outcomes, but we will bravely walk them out in faith anyway.

Faith in things like…

That person you desperately want to reach may never listen to your message, but then again, perhaps they will.

Perhaps your knee-breaking prayers won’t ever be answered, but perhaps they will.

Perhaps that article or blog post you have worked so tirelessly on will be not be read by many, but perhaps someone will read it and be encouraged to keep following Jesus.

Perhaps that difficult person won’t turn to Christ even if you go out on a limb to share God’s message of hope, but perhaps they will hear and give their life to Christ.

In Jeremiah Chapter 36, (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jeremiah+36&version=NIV) Jeremiah and Baruch both put in all the hard work to deliver God’s message. It wasn’t a message that “perhaps” they wanted to hear or even offer, but these two men were obedient to God’s call, not knowing the outcome. Actually, God sent them to deliver a message that said, “Perhaps, when the house of Judah hears about all the disaster I am planning to bring on them, each of them will turn from his evil ways. Then I will forgive their iniquity and their sin.” Jeremiah 36:3 (CSB) Meaning perhaps they won’t but worth the risk, for perhaps they will.

Jeremiah summoned Baruch to come to take down the message God had spoken to his heart. A message that once delivered would perhaps bring a nation to repentance turning back to God with all their hearts. Perhaps the king himself would accept the message and declare a fast and summon a revival. Perhaps all these two men’s hard work would bring about success and acceptance avoiding the calamity of a nation going into captivity. Perhaps they will get to rejoice when all their hard work pays off.

We read of the end results of Baruch’s spoken message after he was taken before the king. But God doesn’t reveal to us how many people heard his message that day or shared each heart that the words landed on. Many of those people took Baruch’s message with them, and no doubt pondered on it. Perhaps many of those people quietly turned to God in solitude. The reality was that the king rejected God’s message even after all their hard work. The King went so far as to burn the scroll it had been written upon. But Baruch’s obedience did not go unnoticed by God.

God would protect his servant in days to come during captivity. A reminder that anything we do in the name of the Lord will not be done in vain. No, it might not bring about the results here on earth we want to see, but if we look at them through the eyes of faith, they will be well worth our effort.

Sometimes there are no guarantees that “our” plans will bring the success we long for. We step out in obedience nevertheless because perhaps that audience of one will be encouraged. Perhaps that one soul will make right with God because of our ministries. Perhaps we will encourage someone along their own faith journey.

Jesus gave his life for a perhaps. All for a perhaps that you would accept him as your Lord and Savior. That slightest of chances He would win your heart and deliver your soul from the depths of sin and shame made Him lovingly stretch His arms out wide on a cross. A perhaps that He considers being well worth the suffering He endured.

So what perhaps is God asking you to step out in faith for today?

Whatever your personal perhaps will be, just remember…

Perhaps, God won’t. But Oh, friend, perhaps God will.

See you in the field,

Susan

*You can also read my post on another small word called “But” http://ruth216.com/the-power-in-small-words