# Wonder 39
What if the best part of this year hasn't happened yet?
Dear Masterpiece,
What side of the bed did you wake up today?
If it's the left, that's on the side of riches and honor.
If it's the right, help is coming your way.
This second half of the year has been named slow, annoying, hopeless, confusing by some people. But maybe it started with a vacation, new job, promotion, babies, proposal, miracle for you.
Whatever side of the group you fall, what can you expect as the days turn into weeks?
Let's begin with a story.
Story story
Jay had everything.
A good name, a good family, a good life. The kind of person others pointed to as an example of what faithfulness looks like when it's working. Then one month, without warning, everything fell apart.
His health. His wealth. The people he loved. Even the friends who stayed didn't comfort him, they told him to think about things he must have done wrong to deserve the pain, the loss.
He didn't have answers. But he didn't give up on himself either.
He argued with God. He wept. He questioned. Yet he refused to curse the One who made him. It was not a clean or quiet faith. It was the kind that bleeds.
Then God showed up. Not to explain the suffering but to remind Jay of who He was. And something in that encounter broke Jay open in the best possible way. He stopped demanding answers and started seeing clearly again.
Suddenly, he experienced a turning point.
But firstly, He prayed for his friends. The same ones who had spent weeks telling him he must have done something to deserve his pain. He didn't wait until he felt like forgiving them. He just prayed. And the moment he did, something shifted.
God restored everything. Not partially. Not just enough to get by. Twice as much as before.
The people who had gone quiet during the hard season started showing up at his door again.
God blessed the second half of Jay's life even more than the first.
The story didn't end at chapter one when everything was good.
It didn't end at the middle chapters when everything was gone.
It ended at the best chapter of all.
Reflect - You know where the shoe pinches
When you look at the second half of this year, what is your most dominant feeling? Is it hope or is it dread and do you know why?
You started this year believing something. What happened to that belief between January and now? Is it gone, or is it just tired?
Since your days began, have you ever commanded the morning, And caused the dawn to know its place
Job 38:12 AMP
You're not alone
A slow second half is not a sign that God has changed His mind about you. It may be a sign that the best chapter takes longer to write.
Sometimes the turning point isn't a new opportunity. It's a shift in what you are praying about.
Try praying for someone else going through the same thing. Try praying for what you want to see instead of what you are tired of looking at. Intercession has a way of lifting your own eyes.
In Jay's hard season, God was present in every chapter, the good one, the devastating one and the restored one. He didn't arrive at the best chapter. He was there at the beginning and never left.
Takeaway
What is one thing you believed for at the beginning of this year that you have quietly stopped expecting? Is it time to pick it back up?
Jay's turning point came when he shifted his focus from what he had lost to what he could still give. What can you still give from where you are right now?
If God blessed the second half of your year more than the first, what would that look like? Can you hold that picture instead of the current one?
Renew your mind
Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy; no shadow of shame will darken their faces. In my desperation I prayed, and the LORD listened; he saved me from all my troubles.
Psalm 34:5-6 NLT
Speak with purpose
God, thank you. Some days are dark. Some days are uncertain. But you, Lord are my constant good thing. I have received the gift of your word to guide my feet and light my path and I'll experience how good this gets. I am light and there's light within and around me. Amen.
You're loved.
You're a masterpiece.
Cultivating intimacy and gratitude,
Oluwatobiloba Wonders.
CURRENTLY
Read:
5 Powerful Truths About Your Relationship With God