God Does Answer Prayer!

God Answers Prayer!

Thank you so very much for praying for me, my family and the Union Gospel Mission selection committee. I went through the day today feeling a wonderful and perfect peace. It was very clear to me that I personally as well as the process were being undergirded by much prayer.

The UGM president selection committee met earlier today and came up with their list of three final candidates. The person leading the search (headhunter) sent me an email midday saying that I’d get a call later in the day with “an update”.

Early this evening (Tuesday) I got the call. He indicated that much thought and prayer had gone into their decision on the three finalists. One member of the committee even watched the interview DVD’s multiple times just to be sure he had a good feel for the candidates. The decision had been made and I was informed that I was not one of the three. While I was very disappointed, I was overwhelmed by that feeling I mentioned earlier, “perfect peace”.

A decade or so ago, I think a similar feeling might have been felt, but that would have been more what I would consider emotional detachment. But today it was different. Today, I felt sad – I grieved that I would not be given the opportunity to lead this wonderful organization and amazing people, that I would not have the chance to share my vision and dreams for the future of region wide ministry, partnerships and collaboration. I was grieved that, while I could still engage with this work at some level, it would not ultimately be in the way or to the depth that I built up hopes to one day participate. Today, I was sad. But today, I was also glad. I was so grateful that so many people prayed and lifted this decision and this ministry before the throne of the Most High and that the committee had also prayed and came to a decision which led to this direct answer to prayer.

The answer may not have come as I might have hoped, but ultimately the answer was most certainly in my favor. There are things unseen and things unknown to me that only our Lord knows – reasons that I may never fully know or understand as to why things happen (or don’t happen) the way they do. I trust in the sovereignty of our Lord.

Because this process, and especially the day today< was covered and bathed in so much prayer, I feel 100% confident that no matter how disappointed I may feel, God’s will was done today.

So friends, please rejoice with me today. Rejoice in the faithfulness of our Lord. Rejoice in His answers to prayer (“no” is as much of an answer as “yes”, just a bit harder to swallow sometimes). Rejoice that the incredible ministry of the Seattle Union Gospel Mission is one step closer to finding their new leader. And rejoice with me that God is still God and He knows my future and He has a plan for my life (Jeremiah 29:11-12).

Rejoice with me that my emotions are intact, my sadness is appropriate, my joy is real, and my peace is perfect and beyond understanding (Philippians 4:6-7). This is the REAL stuff that brings the Word of God alive for me. It’s not theory or theology, it’s LIFE!

Thank you for being an integral and important part of the process with the Union Gospel Mission. When they announce their new president in the not too distant future, you can smile and say, “Thank you, Lord for allowing me to be a part of that decision process.”

Thank you for journeying with me which in turn allowed me the privilege of articulating these reflections here that have in turn blessed me so very much.

Your fellow sojourner,

Garrick