Last fall I was asked to speak at our church’s gathering of moms of preschoolers. My topic focused on keeping marriage a priority while raising young kids. Before I took the stage, some of the leaders of the ministry gathered with me to pray for the talk. Before we prayed, one of the women said, “You know, just being here in this room full of married women and being a mother is an answered prayer. I never thought I would get married. I was always the ‘friend’ but never the ‘girlfriend’. So even being here, in a group of married women with children, is an answered prayer.”

What a sobering word just before talking about the challenges of marriage and raising kids. What a fantastic reset her words were for me. I ended up scrapping what I’d planned to say at the beginning of my talk and shared her weighty words of gratitude. I wanted to remind my audience of young mothers that while they faced challenges in their marriages and parenting, they were standing in the provision of answered prayers. Many of those women likely spent the preceding years praying for the life they were now living – even if it didn’t look the way they imagined. How often do we forget to thank the Lord for the provision of our most pleading prayers long after He’s provided what we prayed for?

So often we focus on God as provider of the next thing. We lose sight of the blessings we are standing on while we ask for more. I’m not suggesting we should stop asking for more or not ask for help when those blessings prove challenging. The Lord is clear in scripture that He wants to be asked, and He wants our full dependence on Him. But what a great reminder the woman gave us to be thankful for the mountains of blessings we stand upon every day, even as we navigate challenges brought on by those blessings.

In our culture, we tend to yay/boo our way through life. Answered prayer (in the way we wanted it answered)? Yay! Challenges with that answered prayer? Boo! We might even question if the answered prayer was really a blessing and not a plot for our demise. “Lord, why did You give me X if it was going to be so difficult?” But those challenges are also part of His greater plan.

It’s so easy to read the book of Exodus and become frustrated with the Israelites. How could they not trust God with their lives? Could they even hear themselves whining and groaning while God was performing miracle after miracle on their behalf? It’s draining, for sure… until we realize we can be just like them.

God released them from more than 400 years of slavery in Egypt. There were challenges (big ones) upon their release in the desert. But the Lord freed them, and the Lord was going to take care of them – in ways they would have to see with their own eyes to believe. Often when we talk about the Israelites in the desert, we focus on those very basic needs of safety, food, and water. And God provided mightily for them – parting the Red Sea, raining manna from Heaven, and providing water from a rock. But less often discussed, and the heart of the story, is God’s ultimate provision: Himself.

As the Israelites traveled, God went ahead of them as a cloud during the day to guide them. At night, God was a pillar of fire to give them light. They had a constant reminder of God’s very real presence with them. And yet, when they faced a new challenge, they questioned God’s goodness and even asked, “Is the Lord among us or not?”, as if the Cloud by day and Fire by night was just part of the scenery (Exodus 17:7).

The blessing of being called to take the next step for the Lord is going to be wrought with challenges – whether we’re talking about Israelites in the desert, modern moms of preschoolers, or parents in a new season of empty-nesting. When Moses was called to lead the Israelites, he presented his personal challenges to the Lord as if the challenges voided the call. And as if the Lord didn’t already know all his shortcomings. The Lord answered Moses’ real concerns with, “I will be with you” (Exodus 3:12).

The greatest and ultimate thing God gives us is Himself. I hope you read that with all the weight it deserves. The God of the universe, the Creator of all things, loves His children and wants to be with them. He says, “I AM” to every challenge or problem we have.  He is Jehovah Jireh, provider of all (Genesis 22:14).

John Piper asked, “What is the deepest root of your joy? What God gives to you? Or what God is to you?” The Lord, in His graciousness, brings us to realize that it’s not the stuff, the solutions, or the alleviation of trials and challenges that is our ultimate need. He ushers us to the truth that our ultimate need is for His Word, His ways – more of Him.

As I spoke to the moms that morning, I didn’t focus on the usual suspects of marriage talks. Sure, make time for date nights and prioritize communication – that’s low-hanging fruit. But I encouraged them with what I learned being a young wife and mother: Lean into the Lord. No detail is too small for Him. Know His character. He is more gracious, forgiving, and equipping than we can imagine. And just like Moses, He will meet all of our “disqualifications” and all of our challenges with “I will be with you.”

Dear Lord, we love You, too. Come be with us in our trials, challenges, and joy. Please forgive us when we doubt Your presence and Your goodness. You are only good. Come be exactly Who You are in our lives – there is nothing and no one better than You. Let us not be soothed with solutions that do not come from You. We want You, Your holy presence, full of graciousness and loving-kindness. May we not settle for less than the glorious offer to have more of You. Maranatha! Amen.