Have you ever been in a place where you find yourself wondering when, or if, God will provide answers for your questions? You may find yourself saying, “Where are the answers, God?”

During those times, it can seem like answers are slow in coming…and it can be a difficult place to be.

As Christians, we believe that God is in control. But worry and uncertainty has a way of sneaking in and replacing our faith with fear.

With the recent cold snap, I’ve felt very cooped up. Winter is just no fun for this guy who used to live at the beach!

So, this weekend, with 60+ degree temperatures in the forecast for the southern part of the state and a canoe that I love to be in, the decision was made to head south and hopefully find some water that wasn’t frozen.

My wife and I set out with fairly low expectations but my hope was that maybe, just maybe, there would be something down there that wouldn’t require me to use my paddles as pick axes again like I did a few weeks ago.

After four hours of driving and zero bodies of water that were not ice covered, the arrival was made at the area where I’d hoped to find some actual water in water form.

First lake option there? Ice. Second lake option? Mostly ice. Third (and basically, final) lake option? Check this out.

Almost stopped at the other places, but I’m really glad I didn’t. The final option, the one I had to wait for and also intentionally seek out, ended up being the best option.

Made me think about how God works in our lives. Things don’t always happen the way we want them to. They certainly don’t always happen in the time frame we want them to. But, this was an example to me of how those things we are looking for, or waiting for, or praying about may be just around the corner.

All we have to do is trust that God will lead us exactly where He wants us to go and that the time before that happens is never wasted. He loves us through it all.

Friends, when life gets really difficult, don’t jump to the conclusion that God isn’t on the job. Instead, be glad that you are in the very thick of what Christ experienced. This is a spiritual refining process, with glory just around the corner. (1 Peter 4:12-13)