After the well-received adventures of the grittier and brooding protagonists of Final Fantasy VII (Cloud) and Final Fantasy VIII (Squall), the developers of Final Fantasy IX went in an entirely different creative direction for the next game in the series. The story of Zidane and his crew felt like a throwback to the games from the cartridge-based Nintendo era both in tone as well as in art style. While the initial reactions to this shift was mixed, FFIX provided fans with the perfect breath of fresh air for the Final Fantasy franchise as it transitioned into the PlayStation 2 era. It may not have felt like a logical progression for the series at that time, but it was exactly what was needed.

The ways that the Lord chooses to answer our prayers in life will rarely fit into a predictable pattern. Even when Jesus performed healings for those who were afflicted with blindness or born lame, He chose to perform each of those miracles in ways that were customized to the individual recipient… and to this day He still responds to our requests based on the specific needs of each of His unique children. Instead of expecting Him to answer our prayers in the same way that He has for others or in a manner that makes sense to us, let’s accept that the Lord may choose to respond to our situation in a different way… one we didn’t know we needed until His work is completed.

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts”. Isaiah 55:8-9

Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him. 1 John 5:14-15

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The Covenant plasma pistol is often one of the most underrated weapons in the Halo series because it is the one that is most frequently used incorrectly. While its’ basic setting can be used to rapidly fire off small pulses of energy, they aren’t very powerful compared to the larger options available in the armory. But when it has been patiently charged for maximum effectiveness, one blast will completely decimate a full energy shield and even stop vehicles dead in their tracks. Firing it impatiently only generates a lot of noise without making much of an impact… but in the hands of a patient gamer who understands how to wield it properly, it is a total game-changer.

Waiting for the Lord to act on my prayers is not always easy, but trying to take matters into my own hands rather than patiently resting in faith is about as useful as rapidly firing a plasma pistol at an incoming Banshee. As excruciating as it can be to wait, it is the combination of our faith in His promises as well as our patience with His timing that results in us seeing the largest mountains in our lives move. Let’s endure our current waiting season in life with the confidence of a Spartan wielding a fully charged plasma pistol… the Lord is never too early or too late, and as we stand firm in our faith we’ll find that we aren’t just sitting and waiting for Him to act. We are charging up. 

But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:31

The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. Lamentations 3:25-26

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