But they who wait for 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
I don't know what it is about this time in life right now, but it seems like many people in my life are facing seasons of waiting. I know how tough it is when God says "wait." Sometimes He seems silent. Sometimes it feels as though it would just be easier
to give up. When we follow God's timeline, it is inevitable that we are going
to eventually face a waiting season. A season where it seems super hard to hear
His voice. Trust me, I know. I've been there, at the point where I've been
ready to stop obeying. More times than I'd like to admit. And eventually, I
will be there again. Practicing patience is not fun. It's really easy to let
the enemy spit lies at us, because that's what he does best. Also, we have
become a society of people are foreign to the word "wait." We are so used to
having the world at our fingertips. We get so frustrated, and we forget to
appreciate what God is trying to teach us in the season we are in because we're
too busy trying to skip past it and get to the next one. We automatically
assume that He is trying to punish us, rather than watering us to help us fully
bloom into who we are meant to be. When you are called into the Kingdom, you
are going to have a few faith-tests along the way. But keep this in mind: your
faith test is going to be your direct passageway to help other people through
their faith-tests. Soak it in. Learn everything that you can during this time.
The more mature I grow in my faith, the more comfort I find in Jesus saying
"….my daughter, just wait."
The first thing to remember
during a season of waiting is WE ARE NOT SMARTER THAN GOD. "Therefore, the Lord waits to be gracious to
you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a
God of justice; blessed are those who wait for Him." Isaiah 30:18. Contrary
to popular beliefs, we do not know what is best for us. Believing that God is
loving and kind means believing that every single thing He is doing behind the
scenes is working all things out for our greater good. It's way too easy for us
to try to take matters into our own hands. And I admit, I have tried with
everything in me to take my life and my problems into my own hands. The result?
I end up having a bigger mess than I started with.(It's a good thing that there's
no mess our God can't clean up!) The key to getting through these times is
allowing God to meet you in the middle of your wait. Not only will he show up,
but He will exceed every expectation you have and reveal parts of His heart
that you've never known before. Constantly remind yourself that something is
happening when nothing is happening; the Lord is waiting to change your heart
to be more like His. The tendency to push God away or question His perfect ways
goes against His beautiful plan for our lives. It hardens our hearts and causes
unnecessary pain. He calls us to peace, not pain.
The God who comforts as a
mother. Just recently, my family has experienced a waiting-season with
my grandpa's cancer diagnosis. And let me just tell you, there's no period of
waiting more difficult than waiting on results for the sickness of a loved one.
And let me just be completely honest with you and say that I QUESTIONED GOD.
Not just once, but many times throughout the last few months. I couldn't wrap
my head around what was happening, and I needed God to answer me NOW. It's
crazy how God works, because my Grandpa, ever since he has been diagnosed with
cancer, has been the exact opposite. He has hope. He has faith. He has never
tried to rush or question God in this season. Not that the waiting is easy for
him, because it's not. But he is at peace with it, and ready to find the silver
lining. I found that the more I prayed to God, and cried out to Him, the closer
he would pull me in. I understood that our God has a motherly comfort. He uses
these times when we feel defeated in waiting, the in-between gaps, and uses
them as a beautiful time to allow us to grow. Suddenly, it all made sense to me
and I understood why my Grandpa was so unshaken when I began to feel the
comfort God was trying to give me all along. It's not what happens TO us, but
what can happen FROM us. I was just unable to fully receive it due to the
doubts that the enemy had implanted in my head. Perfect love casts out ALL
fear. More than anything, He wants to calm the afraid child in us. Cast your
burdens on Him. Afterall, that is the ultimate reason why He died and rose
again. Believe that the one who died for you hears your cries and feels your
struggles. While you should always remain hopeful, remember that it is
perfectly okay to have moments of raw emotion. "He who did not spare His own Son, but gave him up for us all, how
will He not also with him graciously give us all things?" Romans 8:32
The human nature in us encourages
us to put our hope and trust in things that will ultimately hurt us in the long
run. We can hope for a doctor to give us good test results, or a significant
other to love us, etc. But only when we put all of our hope in Christ can we
guarantee that we will never be disappointed in any outcome. There is only one
place to go during hard times, and that is to the cross. Sometimes, I like to
think that we experience hard times of waiting because God wants us to learn
how to seek him fully and constantly. That no matter how dark things may seem
to get, that there is no darkness that His light cannot overcome. "For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the
Lord will give grace and glory; no good thing will he withhold from them that
walk uprightly." Psalm 84:11 How amazing does that feel to know
that He will hold NO GOOD THING FROM US when we remain faithful to Him. That
one verse brings my heart so much peace. How can we live our lives with so much
anxiety when we know that our God, the one true King, will hold NO good thing
from us. The answer is really simple: we aren't perfect. We will never be able
to wait as perfectly as Jesus waited.
The enemy is really good at twisting our visons so that we can't see our situations how God sees them. The
enemy will tell us that God does not care for us. That He is not listening.
That He is not good. That you deserve the worst possible outcome of your
situation. LISTEN TO ME: Do yourself a favor, don't let the enemy have this
control over your precious life. If He cares for the birds in the sky, how much
more will he care for you? Matthew 10:29-31 says "Are not too sparrows sold for
a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father's
care. And even the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don't be
afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows." Keep your gaze and focus set on
the one who loves you most. He carries around books filled with your hopes,
your desires, and your dreams. You can give Him the desires of your heart while
living your life full of joy and purpose while you wait. There are things in
this season that you are going through that God wants to do inside of your
heart. When your season of waiting ends- the work He did inside of you will
remain and it will all make perfect sense why you had to go through this. So
just stand firm, remain still, and remind yourself that IT IS WELL. You will be
rewarded by being fruitful in your waiting season. You will be in full bloom,
blossoming right in front of everyone's eyes and it will be so worth it.
