WAITING
Waiting. It's part of our everyday lives. You wait for the washing machine to finish so you can transfer the clothes to the dryer...only to wait again for them to dry. You wait for dinner to finish cooking so you can eat it. You wait in a doctor's office (for what seems like forever) for a 10-minute appointment. You wait at traffic lights, stop signs, and drive-thrus, for holidays, birthdays, and anniversaries. You wait, and wait, and wait some more.
You get the picture. Waiting happens!
But what about when you find yourself in a "waiting season" for something far bigger, far greater, for something your heart dearly desires: a spouse, a child, a job, justice to be served, a cure for an illness, a dream to become reality? What then? How do you wait, and wait well?
Practice Perseverance & Prayer
It's discouraging when the thing or person hoped for is delayed. You lose patience. You lose hope. And sometime you're even tempted to lose trust in God, thinking He is denying you, even something good.
But don't.
God's timing is not your timing. HIs ways and means of bringing something about are not your ways or means. He is Sovereign. He knows what He is doing, and you can trust it. In the meantime, meditate on and claim Isaiah 40:31 and Psalm 37:7.
Trust God's Plan
God has a plan for each person. But that plan often includes seasons of waiting, both long and short. Why? Because He has something to teach you in those seasons that couldn't otherwise be learned unless you are quiet, still, and waiting.
One of my favorite sayings is, "Let us be silent that we may hear the whisper of God." It is often in these silent times of waiting that we better perceive God's presence and are more attune to His voice.
There also may be areas of refinement that need to be made, and times of waiting are when God accomplishes it.
It is in those waiting times, too, that you're more apt to lean into God more, to deepen your relationship with Him, and read His Word more consistently, more hungrily.
Whatever the reason for the wait, be assured that it is not wasted time, either to God or for you!
Put Your Hope in God
It's easy to put your hope in that one thing or person you're longing for, are waiting for. And it may never come. You remain single or childless. The healing doesn't happen. That dream dies. Earthly justice isn't served.
But when you put your hope in God--in the love, mercy, justice, and peace He provides--you will never be disappointed. Only He can satisfy your deepest longings and dreams. It is in Him and Him alone that you will find fulfillment and satisfaction.
So, dear one, persevere, pray, trust, and hope in God. And wait!
Be encouraged. Be blessed.
