Purpose In the Waiting.

It occurred to me the other day that there was a heck of a lot of waiting in the Bible.

Abraham and Sarah waited for their child - the one that God had promised them many years before she conceived.

David waited to be King - and while he waited, he had to hide in caves from the current King who wanted to take his life.

Moses waited for the promised land - and had to wait until after he died to see it.

Shoot, there are 400 years of silence in between the Old and the New Testament. Actually, the entire Old Testament is waiting on the Messiah. And now we are waiting on him again, aren't we?

Much of our life as believers will be spent in the quiet and stillness of the waiting room. I normally welcome quiet... I actually think I crave it (as most mommas probably do). But when God is quiet, I get anxious, tense and even doubtful. I am a huge dreamer but not so much of a doer, so when my dreams seem to be planted in me from the Lord and then there is no action on His part immediately after, I start to wonder "wait, did I hear Him right? Is this the direction that He said He wanted me to run in?"

As the reality of the waiting game sets in, my heart shifts focus and I lose sight of the goal of walking daily in obedience. When I take my eyes off of God amidst the discouragement, my thoughts begin to center instead on my shortcomings and all of the reasons why I shouldn't believe Him in the first place. All the reasons I deserve to be let down and all of the ways that I know I will fall short.

Have you ever felt discouraged in the waiting? Have you ever felt as though you were doing your part, but God isn't doing His? That you are trying your hardest to be obedient, but the believing-He-will-fill-His-promises part is starting to dwindle?

I want to encourage all of us today, y'all! God - even in the stillness - is faithful. But we must decide to see that, even when we don't feel it. There are three things can fill us with hope as we wait.

God is a God of details and even while He is working said details together for His purposes, He wants us to be a part of them. He has us here in the waiting on purpose. He is not only working out our path forward while we wait, but there is also an assignment within the waiting, right? Is it to seek Him deeper? Does He want us to cultivate new relationships in this season? Is He asking us to rest? Does He want us to take care of some sin in this wait?

There is purpose in the stillness because there are people in the stillness.

Choosing to wait on purpose is difficult as the stillness drags on,  but today, I will believe that there is purpose right here.

God is also a God of timing and y'all - I hate that I can't control this part of life. When projects move forward, when I see fruit from my labor, when a relationship dies or when a relationship blooms. I am not in control. He is. And as I grow older wiser, I realize when I look back on the still seasons in my life, the moments that movement started were ones I wouldn't have chosen but that were perfect for so many reasons. I think I know my needs, but He knows them so much deeper than I do. He knows what my heart, mind and body need that I will never understand and only He can meet those needs - and sometimes it is in the wait.

So today, I will believe that His timing is best.

Finally, God is a God of promises. I feel like we should all take a deep breath here, shouldn't we? Breathe in His faithfulness and breathe out His grace. As believers we know this to be true. We choose to believe that the Bible is true and our past experiences with God most likely point to that Truth as well. Now, to remember this during the wait... now that is a challenge, isn't it?

A friend shared this verse with me last week and it has brought me much peace to cling to while I sit in this waiting room of sorts, and I hope it will for you too. "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful." Hebrews 10:23.

Think back on the promises that He has filled in your life. Think of all the ways that He has come through for you before. Has He provided peace peace that passes all understanding? Has He taken your mess and woven it into something crazy good? Has He given you inexplicable joy when it didn't make sense? Has He proven Himself faithful even after the wait?

Today, I will believe that He fulfills His promises, because He has before and He will again.

Even when it seems that God has forgotten me I must believe that He is still there, working things out in my midst and bringing people into my path that are not there by chance. I am thankful to serve a God who understands my innermost needs, the timing that I wouldn't choose and the bigger picture. We can serve Him faithfully today in the wait we we decide to believe He is still there.

I pray this is a message of hope for one of you precious readers out there today. I am so blessed by your encouragement and His encouragement through you! Have a great week, friends!