The Holy Spirit has impressed it on my heart to write this article for quite some time, but I have allowed fear to keep me from writing what God has called me to write. Now, I am choosing to leave that fear behind and speak truth into the area of my life that has so desperately needed spiritual growth for such a long time.
"Waiting" is a topic that is so prominent in Christian culture. We talk about "waiting" for relationships, jobs, college acceptance letters, friends, etc. For some reason, we have sugarcoated this waiting process as if it is so simple to go through, and if you do struggle with it, you are just not the norm. Well, I am here to talk about probably my biggest struggle over the past year.
It is easy for me to believe God loves me because He said so. It is easy for me to believe that God will never leave me or forsake me because He said so. It is easy for me to believe that God has a plan for my life because He said so. Along with these, the Bible holds so many promises to us that are truly wonderful promises. The issue I always seemed to find (that I now know is not an issue) is that there are certain things it appeared He did not promise.
God never promised that I would land my dream job, find a boyfriend, or make an A on my astronomy exam. It was the things that I thought the Bible didn't address that scared me. Keyword: thought.
What I didn't realize myself and needed the Holy Spirit to help me see was it wasn't that the Bible was lacking promises, it was my heart that was lacking faith.
I spent so much of my time thinking about the future and worrying about how it would end up when in reality who God is and what He has promised me is more than I could have ever asked for or deserved.
He promised love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and temperance. He promised that His grace would be sufficient. He promised eternal life to all believers. He promised plans to give us hope and a future. He promised that if we delighted in Him, He would give us the desires of our hearts. He promised He would never leave us or stop loving us. This does not even scratch the surface of everything He's promised us in the Bible and even with just what I have listed, what more could you want?
This constant fear of the unknown was an issue in my heart. I claimed with my words to trust God with my entire life, but deep down in my heart, I was plagued with worry. Once I identified this lack of faith, I could finally ask the Holy Spirit to help me truly cling to what I have in Him.
I know I cannot be the only one who has looked to the future and been afraid of what is to come. I also know I cannot be the only one who has been concerned that the Bible doesn't promise us worldly things per say. You are not alone in your struggle, but you are also not without hope. What you have as a follower of Christ is better than anything the world could give you. Look to the real heart of the issue and let Him change you from the inside out.
You do not have to be bound by the fear of the unknown, but you can be transformed by faith in Jesus Christ.
