The Tightrope You Were Given
"But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold." — Job 23:10
A Prayer God Declined
A young woman came under a severe and sustained attack that lasted a year before God brought victory. During it she was physically harmed and became ill. After the battle was won she remained weak and unwell from the damage that had been done.
She, her family, and her friends prayed continuously for her healing.
The Lord did not choose to heal her. He had a purpose for the illness.
She later gave permission for her own account to be shared, because she came to understand what that purpose was. In her own words:
"Several nights ago I was awake most of the night in prayer. As I prayed, the Lord showed me why I have been so ill and why He has allowed all the physical suffering.
The Lord showed me a vision. I was walking across a tightrope and was very unsure and frightened. Many people were watching me. Then I saw Jesus standing at the end of the tightrope and He motioned for me to come to Him. I kept my eyes fixed on Him, and then I felt secure and steady and reached the other end of the rope. As I walked, the people watching me were greatly impressed.
After the vision the Lord spoke to me saying: 'I knew you were spiritually unstable after the battle. I needed to do something to humble you and bring you closer to Me. So I have been allowing this physical illness, and I have been teaching you to walk the tightrope of illness. As you have been faithful to walk this tightrope you have been a testimony to those watching you, and you have grown very close to Me. Your testimony has reached your whole family and many people at church and your place of work. Many are praising and glorifying My name.'"
What She Would Have Missed
How much this young woman would have missed if her prayers had been answered as she wanted.
Think about what came out of the unanswered prayer:
She was humbled at a point where she had become spiritually unstable.
She was brought very close to God — the treasure that all of this study has been about.
She became a testimony to her whole family, her church, and her workplace.
Many people glorified God because of how she carried something she never asked to carry.
And what rewards she will receive for her faithfulness in walking that tightrope.
The Difficult Truth
We assume that a prayer God has not answered is a prayer that failed.
Sometimes it is a prayer He answered differently, because He could see what our requested outcome would have cost us.
"But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold." (Job 23:10)
"That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ." (1 Peter 1:7)
Point to Ponder
Sometimes an unanswered prayer is an answered one — He simply saw what your requested outcome would have cost you.
Verse to Remember
"But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold." — Job 23:10
Question to Consider
What tightrope have I been given — and have I been asking to get off it rather than asking how to walk it?
Today's Practice
Identify your tightrope. The thing you have asked God repeatedly to remove and He has not.
Then change the question you are bringing Him.
Instead of "Lord, take this away," ask:
"Lord, why have You allowed this? What are You doing?"
"What do You want me to learn while I am here?"
"Who is watching me walk this, and what are they seeing?"
Sit with those questions and write down whatever comes. You may not get an answer today. She got hers after most of a night in prayer.
Then do the one thing that made her walk steady: fix your eyes on Him rather than on the rope.
"Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith." (Hebrews 12:2)
And consider, seriously, who is watching you. Somebody is. Your family, your colleagues, people at church. They are learning something about God from how you carry this, and you may never know who.
Prayer
Father, I have asked You to take this away more times than I can count, and You have not.
I have taken that as failure — mine or Yours.
Today I am asking a different question. Why have You allowed this? What are You doing in me that could not be done any other way?
If You knew I was unstable and needed humbling, then humble me and let me stop resisting it.
If people are watching, then let them see something worth seeing. Let my walking of this be a testimony that makes them glorify Your name rather than pity me.
Fix my eyes on You rather than on the rope. When I look down I lose my balance every time.
And when You have tried me, let me come forth as gold. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
She kept her eyes fixed on Him, and then she felt secure and steady. The rope did not change.