Waiting and waiting and waiting.......and waiting!!!!

Well here I am !!!! I am finally ready to start posting and blogging. Well, okay, not prepared ready as in I have my thoughts all worked out and know what I want to or am going to say. I realized today that I was telling myself that I would know when the right time would be to start writing, which is the same as telling myself that I wasn't ready almost every day. And where did that come from and why!??? Hmmmmm...procrastination? and why???? maybe from fear, doubt, and the biggest lie of all...don't have time!!!! Hmmm....so I am on vacation at my sister's house and checking my email and read the following devotional message and found myself saying I have lived this and I am still living this and it is time to talk...aka...write!!!
The devotional below is on waiting. Ever had to wait???? Whatever!!!!! How many of you find yourself in a constant state of waiting lately??? Or you just about loss your mind because it feels like all you do is wait...wait in line, wait at the light, wait on hold, wait for your kids, wait for assistance, wait for an upcoming appointment, wait for results, wait for an email, wait for money, wait for help, wait wait wait wait wait!!!!! blah blah blah blah blah!!!!! And the big one...waiting for God to say yes or no. I think we all can handle it pretty good when God's answer is no but when He says WAIT...that feels like it is about to just push us right over the edge. To us it can feel like an eternity!!!! For me...I have been in several different waiting lines with God over the past several years....sometimes with the greatest of patience, and other times I am screaming...ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!!
Yet He reminds me that it isn't my will but His. He encourages me to remember that He DOES want His very best for me..and I am pretty sure that is better than anything I can come up with on my own. So for me the question of do I have the patience to wait isn't the issue so much any more....I don't question my patience issue...learning patience is a daily thing...and sometimes it is easy and other times it isn't. I don't worry and fret about how I am going to be patient in my waiting either. Why? Because everytime He asks or tells me to wait, He teaches me patience in a different way than the last time. What this has done for me is taught me to TRUST GOD!
That is what waiting for God is all about. That is what I am learning. That is what He wants us all to learn....to TRUST HIM. Do we trust Him really? In all things...or do we find ourselves saying "God you are more than able in most of my life but I better handle this one area cause I don't know if I will get things the way I want if I let You do it......" or something along those words???? Hmmmmmm....yep that is me sometimes.....and ya know what happens...I promptly drive my life straight into the ground....crash and burn baby!!! And then...cry..."Hey God...why did you let that happen...that hurt....please fix this...please fix them...or please make this go away!" Instead of saying...God please fix me!!
Well I am learning this lesson. I have been doing a lot of asking "GOD PLEASE FIX ME" over the last two years...it took some hard, deep hurts to get there, but on the smiling side of those hurts...I am GLAD that I learned to say God please fix me...and I am Glad that I have learned to totally and truly trust God...even when He says wait.
Even when all I hear from Him is wait...when it comes to my kids, my family, my friends, my job, my life, His calling for me....even when all He says is wait....I will trust Him....pretty sure He knows what He is doing...after all....HE IS GOD! and I am not!
God bless and love ya all!
Lorrie


Enjoy this awesome message from Proverbs 31 ......



June 10, 2008

The Weight of Waiting
Van Walton

“Why doesn’t the Almighty bring the wicked to judgment? Why must the godly wait for him in vain?”
Job 24:1 (NLT)

Devotion:
My must-have-in-order-to-survive-today’s-busy-lifestyle high-tech equipment doesn’t function right. After dialing technical support and listening to instructions, I press one button and then another. Finally the phone rings. And rings. Relieved when I hear a voice, I anticipate a rapid resolution. Instead, I get a recording, “Please WAIT for the next available agent.”

Arghhhh! I don’t like having to wait. It can bring out the worst in me. Once after a long holding session, I actually threw my phone across the room, fell in a heap on the floor, and sobbed!

God knows me. He is well aware of my weaknesses. So He calls me to His workout room were my weights are actually waits. “Here lift these. When you have completed this exercise, you will emerge a stronger woman.”

So I begin to “strength train” with the waits in my life.

Daily I encounter light waits that serve as a warm up for the heavier waits. How I behave as I wait in line at the post office or grocery store, for example, becomes a testimony to my growing strength and maturity. Sure I sometimes drop the load rather than handle the wait well … I occasionally give in to impatient eye rolling, snide under-my-breath comments, or quick steps to assure my place in line.

Thankfully, God believes in me as a savvy coach believes in his well-chosen athletes. He hasn’t given up on me. He continues to assign me to His wait room where I’m learning daily “wait training” strengthens me for the larger times of waiting. Like the time I had to wait for my first job. As I waited for a call back, my self-esteem plummeted. Yet in God’s good timing He opened the doors to the perfect position. Or, the time I waited as my dad’s health deteriorated. Sadness threatened to overwhelm me. But I emerged from God’s wait room wrapped in my Father’s comfort, having learned to trust Him.

I’ve discovered that waiting isn’t a waste of time, but an opportunity to grow my character. When the wait feels impossible I try to focus on building patience and my relationship with Jesus, rather than fretting. I spend a lot of time in God’s wait room. Next time you find yourself there, remember that God provides the ability to endure when we willingly yield to His strength training process.

Father God, please forgive me for my impatient behavior when having to wait on You. Help me to use time of waiting to grow stronger in You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Related Resources:
The Character of God: Understanding His Heart for Us by Brian T. Anderson & Glynnis Whitwer

Visit Van Walton’s blog for more insights on waiting

From the Pound to the Palace by Van Walton

Application Steps:
Make a list of the times you have been challenged to wait. Beside each describe your reactions. How can you better hand these situations?

Reflections:
What possible reasons could God have that I should have to wait?

Have the challenges I faced while I waited improved my character or exposed my true nature?

Do I believe God can use the down time of waiting to draw me closer to Him? How?

Power Verses:
Psalm 5:3, “In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; …I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.” (NIV)

Isaiah 49:23 b, “Those who wait for me shall not be put to shame.” (ESV)

Romans 15:4, “…the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled.” (NLT