THE IMPORTANCE OF WAITING ON GOD’S TIMING

I don’t need to tell you that waiting on God’s timing is hard! 

You’ve been begging God to deliver you from this difficult season you are in. You’ve fought so long in this struggle, it’s left you exhausted, and quite frankly, losing all hope in God’s promises. 

It seems as though the rest of your life will look this way. As if it will never change.

You’re losing patience and ready for your life to finally begin. You have no idea how you’ll be able to get out of this season of waiting.

You’d likely find yourself cowering in a dark corner of your closet with a blanket over your head, completely paralyzed with fear.

You would see everything that life is going to throw at you, including things that God takes care of without you ever knowing. 

And because your comfort zone is so… well, comfortable, you would be scared out of your mind trying to determine how you’re going to accomplish these big gigantic plans that God has for you, knowing that on your own, it’s more than you could handle.

And you’d be right! 

Without God beside you, refining your character and preparing you for what he has planned, you’d be thrown into a situation that you have absolutely no way of handling on your own.

It seems as if God simply doesn’t care.

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It’s not about you

21 Many plans are in a man’s mind, but it is the Lord’s purpose for Him that will stand. Proverbs 19: 21 AMPC  

It’s no coincidence that the very first sentence in The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren is simply, “It’s not about you.”

Was that hard for you to swallow?

I remember the first time I read it. I was thinking the same thing you may be thinking right now. “What are you talking about? How can it not be about me?” 

It may be a hard one to swallow, but it’s the hard, cold truth. Only, it’s not really hard or cold, and here’s what I mean. 

Would you agree that God created you? Of course, right?

Do you think He created you just to go through life selfishly focusing on only what makes you happy?

The thing is, you have no idea what the future holds. In fact, you have only a very narrow vision of what’s to come. Personally, I find great comfort in this.

If you were to know what the future held for you, it would be downright terrifying. 

God created you for a specific purpose. Something that only you can fulfill.

I’m not a car girl, so bear with me for a moment. Consider your vehicle. It’s an intricate piece of machinery that gets you from place to place. 

There are carburetors, fuel filters, gas lines, gas tanks, spark plugs, drive trains, wigamajoos, and doohickies.

Without the spark plugs, the car will not run. Without the gas line, the car will not run. 

Every single piece of equipment is there for a very specific reason. It may seem like a small, unimportant part, but without it, the car would not be able to do its job.

And just like that oh-so-important spark plug, God needs you for His very specific plan to work.

Though you play an extremely important role in God’s plan, it’s not about you. It’s about Him and his ultimate plan for your life and the lives of others.

In Lisa Laizure’s Woman’s Bible Study, Lisa states, 

“Trusting God doesn’t mean we’re trusting Him to give us everything we want. It means trusting Him to do what He needs to do in this situation to fulfill his greater purpose.” 

Not only does Lisa remind us that it’s not about what we want in life, but she also states that we were all created to accomplish his plan.

Where does your heart lie

I can’t begin to count how many times I’ve prayed over the years, pleading with God that if he would just give me this one thing, I’ll never be unhappy again. 

This “one thing” was going to bring me all the happiness I could ever imagine and life would be wonderful for the rest of my life.

Have you ever offered up a similar prayer? 

(By the way, it’s not lost on me that clearly, I was making it all about me and what I wanted.)

I spent years counting on things of this earth to bring me happiness and security. 

Obviously, I was looking for my happiness in the wrong place! I was longing to be out of my season of waiting so that my life could finally begin.

I was overlooking the many blessings that I had right in that very moment, missing the very life that was happening around me.

Here’s the thing. If you can’t be happy with what you have in this world right now, then you won’t be happy with more.

One day, while spending quiet time with Jesus, I was reading Matthew 6:19-21 NLT

19 “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. 21 Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.

It was verse 21 that really got me. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will be.

I outwardly said that I wanted God and eternal life with Him in heaven, however, the desires of my heart were more money, more things, more healthy days, more, more, more.

Talk about a good swift kick to the behind! Isn’t that just like our God to remind us how it really is?

So now I ask you. Where are the desires of your heart?

It’s the waiting that draws you closer to God

Reflect back on your life for a moment. 

When life was going great, with no difficulties or challenges going on, did you still turn to God, thanking Him for what you have? Did you spend time in His Presence, worshipping Him?

Hey, no judgment here, my friend. I certainly didn’t. 

Life was going great, so what did I need to ask Him for? And besides, I was busy, chasing after the kids and doing my thing, that I didn’t always have the extra time to spend studying His Word.

Sound familiar?

It’s during those incredibly difficult seasons in your life when God draws you closer to Him. It’s when you start forming a relationship with Him when he teaches you what his promises are, and that it’s so much easier to live your life with Him.

And when you have a relationship with God, it’s when your perspective starts to change. It’s when you begin to move the focus off yourself and on to Him where it belongs.

God is calling you to be still, to spend time in His Presence, and to let Him help you through the challenges. 

Exodus 14:14 NIV 14 The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

Waiting is when the biggest change occurs

“Not all storms come to disrupt your life. Some come to clear your path.” Cathy Heller 

As you know by now, God has something important planned for your life, but truth be told, you’re not ready for it…yet.

Just like a lump of clay requires careful molding and high temperatures to become beautiful bowls with a specific purpose, you too, need to be molded and refined into the person that God created you to be.

It takes time to polish and perfect your character, to teach you what you need to know to better serve God.  There are a lot of lessons to be learned between now and your time of deliverance.

I think back over my life and all the challenges I’ve been through. 

God has used every struggle, every illness, every difficulty to bring me closer to Him, to be ready to live my life for Him.

I’ve been so tired and beat down over the years, longing for relief from my chronic migraines, and yet, it’s during this time where I’ve learned the most. Not despite my chronic illness, but because of it. 

Not long ago, I was asked if I’d go through all the pain and suffering again if I knew that I could be right where I am now.

As difficult as it is to consider reliving all the physical and emotional pain again, the answer is, most definitely I would! I’ve grown more in these past years than I have my entire life!

Your long season of waiting is for a reason. You’re still here because you have more to learn. God isn’t finished preparing you for what’s to come. 

Instead of focusing on when and how you will get out of this season of waiting, turn your focus to God and ask Him to open your eyes to what he has to teach you right now.

And then be willing to listen. Be open to changing your perspective, and open your eyes to the peace that is available, even in the midst of your pain.

Blessed to be a blessing

“Tell the story of the mountain you climbed. Your words could become a page in someone else’s survival guide.” Morgan Harper Nichols 

Have you ever considered that because you are waiting, because this struggle has been long and difficult, that God may be using you to encourage someone else?

He may be using you to help them get through a challenge they are in.

I remember several years ago going through a really difficult season alongside a friend. It was hard, it was unbelievable, and there really didn’t appear to be any way that they would have a happy ending.

My friend had been hurt and completely blindsided by something she never saw coming, and her entire family had been affected by something that she didn’t create on her own.

And I’ll never forget something that she said to me.

“If I can get through this the way God would like me to, and if I can help one other person through this tragedy, then it was worth it.”

This was a big, ugly kind of pain she and her family were in. 

This was the deepest valley in her life, and to see the grace that she exhibited through it and her willingness to keep God and His Purpose at the center of this pain was something that I will never forget. 

She was willing to allow God to use this situation to make a difference in the lives of others. To show anyone who needed it that there is a way out and that no matter how bad life gets, it is merely a blip in time and a small piece to the puzzle.

So my question to you today is: are you willing to allow God to use your story to help someone else?

Finding Joy in the journey

My friend, God does not expect you to walk through this on your own. He is right beside you, leading the way. 

You need only to open your eyes. To take your focus off how and when what you’ve been praying for will happen, and turn your eyes to God’s promises.

God knows your needs (and better than you) and is carefully putting it all in place.

Though this season has been hard, and you’ve been waiting a long time, it still has so many beautiful meadows and deep green pastures for you to enjoy. 

1 The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need. 2 He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. 3 He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name. 4 Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me. Psalm 23: 1-4

I know you’re waiting on God to deliver you from something. It seems as if this is the final chapter in your story, but my friend, that simply isn’t true. 

This season of waiting is part of your journey, and you can have good times in the midst of it.

Stop longing for it to be over. Find comfort in knowing that you don’t need all the answers. You simply need the next step in his plan. 

It’s time to embrace the season for what it truly is. An opportunity to learn, to grow closer to God, and to find joy no matter how long this struggle is.

Wrapping Up

A season of waiting is about understanding that God’s will is so much bigger and better than anything you could imagine. 

It’s about growing closer to Him and understanding that these seasons are some of the most valuable seasons of your life. 

God is asking you to trust Him. Are you ready to step out of your comfort zone and let Him lead the way?

Are you ready to find comfort in letting God handle the details of your life and allow Him to teach you what you’ll need for the next season in your life?

It is not going to be an overnight fix. You’ll have to remind yourself that this season of waiting has a purpose and you’ll need to make the choice to trust in His perfect timing every single day.

Are you willing to allow God to use this season to help you grow?

I’d love to hear from you today! Comment below and tell me what you’re going to be intentional about this week so that you can patiently wait on God’s perfect timing.

Thanks for stopping by the blog today. Be sure to take a look around before you leave.

Until next time, my friend…

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