God’s Way is Better

Written by Vianne Satterfield

“The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.” Psalms 37:23

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.” Proverbs 3:5-6

I give Chaz, my brown tabby cat, medication to treat hyperthyroidism. I ordered the medication before I ran out of it, as it would be sent from another state. I did not expect the process to take 7 weeks before I received the refill, as it normally takes about a week.

During this 7 week “trial,” I phoned the pharmacy and the veterinarian several times, and even got the help of a cat behaviorist to be my advocate to get the medication delivered to me. I tracked the package from the shipper’s website only to discover the package had been damaged and undelivered. (Big Sigh!) I had to begin the process again, and it was a very frustrating experience to say the least. There were communication break downs along the way and a case number was assigned along with specific names of people promising to deliver the product “quickly.”

No matter what I did or to whom I called to advocate for me and my cat, it didn’t seem to make a difference. I felt stuck, frustrated and helpless. This process took so much time and energy. I just wanted to take care of my cat and I sure didn’t understand why it was so hard to do that!

One day as I was thinking about this, I realized I had not actually prayed and asked for God’s help. I had phoned a friend, a veterinarian, a pharmacy. I called for help in seemingly all the right places, except I did not ask God to handle it for me.

HELLO! I am an intercessor, a prayer group facilitator, a devotional writer, and a child of the Most High God whom has access to the throne room of God and I did not pray?! (Sigh.)

I had relied upon myself, my own understanding and my way. God used this situation to teach me about taking authority in prayer and to lean on him rather than on my own way.

I immediately started thanking God for showing me that I had been given authority in Christ, and I began proclaiming God’s intervention for me in this situation. I declared God’s goodness; I worshiped and praised Him. The feelings of helplessness and frustration left, as I trusted God to handle it.

Within a few days after praising God, praying and taking authority over this situation, I received the medication for my cat. It took 6 1/2 weeks of frustration, helplessness and trying to do it my way only to remember that God cares about every detail of our lives — even the mundane things that do not seem to matter, but because we matter to Him, we can trust Him with everything, even the small things in life.

Have you experienced God’s attention to small details in your life? I would love to hear from you in the comments section or by contacting me at VianneSatterfield55@gmail.com.