Have you ever prayed to God for a specific outcome, only to be disappointed when your plans did not work out? Perhaps you were in a relationship that you thought and prayed would last forever, but it ended. Did you pray in earnest for a certain job, but didn’t get picked? By not allowing you to get what you wanted, might God have been setting you up for a better plan? Take a moment to reflect upon the desires and wants that you have placed before the Lord over the years. You may now be thankful for many that did not come to fruition. We may be disappointed with or angry at God because our expectations are based on our limited understanding. I suffered through an addiction and prayed repeatedly for God to take it from me. But He didn’t grant my request right away. It took an astounding 24 years for the Lord to heal me. But I can now honestly thank Him for that time of hardship because throughout those years, in working through it, I got to know Him more deeply and experienced His kindness and mercy in countless ways. I have a testimony of His enduring faithfulness and love. I have truly experienced a miracle, not an instantaneous phenomenon, but a gradual lasting transformation. I have learned that the Word of God is living and active. Through these years, I have had countless opportunities to practice taking my thoughts captive and making them obedient to Christ. I have learned to discern His voice and obey. I can attest to the truth in God’s Word, “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:9 NIV).