Rear View Mirror

Why is it so much easier to see God's hand at work in our lives"after the fact" than when we are living through the situation? I believe it is because we are more influenced by our emotions and feelings than we are by our knowledge of His character and ways.
For years I struggled with being consistent about having a quiet time---a time when I put aside every other thought or responsibility and paid attention to my Lord. I would have good intentions and follow through for a few days, sometimes even for a few weeks, but then let other things get in the way.
I cried out to God, "Why can't I follow through with my intentions? You know I want to be close to You, to have a more intimate relationship with You...Why can't I be consistent?"
Silence....from God, but not disinterest or neglect or rejection, for He heard and He was at work. That was several years ago. In the summer of 1995 we were spending a week with friends in Wisconsin. I fell down the steps in the middle of the night going to the bathroom. I landed on three steps bump-bump-bump- right between my shoulder blades and yes it crushed two vertebrae. Although there were two doctors in the house the break was not diagnosed until a week later when I was in so much pain that I finally saw a doctor and was put into a back brace for six weeks. A year later my internist suggested I have a bone density test. It showed that I had considerable bone loss. I was shocked for I had been taking hormones, calcium and exercising for years, all the things to prevent osteoporosis. I immediately started taking Fosamex--a medicine to stop bone loss and reverse it.
But it had to be taken every morning with 8 ounces of water and the patient must sit or stand for 30 minutes before eating or drinking anthing else.
What was a very inconvenient situation turned out for my good, just as Paul said that his being in jail had turned out for the greater progress of the gospel. (Phil 1:12) {for from jail Paul wrote to the churches many of his epistles that we study today} and as Joseph told his brothers in Gen 50:20 "You meant it for evil but God meant it for good."
How did this turn out for my good? Because I had 30 minutes every morning that I could sit down and meet with my Lord. This began to run into 45 minutes or an hour or more, as I had a greater desire to meet with Him and hear what He spoke into my heart.
After several years, they developed a pill to be taken every week instead of every day, but by then my quiet time had become a deeply ingrained habit in my life.
Years ago I ran across a saying that I put in my Bible to remember when things were hard...."Never despise the circumstances that bring you closer to the Lord." My back still hurts when I get very tired or strain it, but it serves as a reminder of God's faithfulness in answereing prayers and doing it in unexpected and inspiring ways...ways we could never imagine.
I Cor2:9... just as it is written: things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him."