Have you ever had those days ( weeks, months or maybe even years) when you just felt like you were in a funk and couldn’t seem to shake it? I have been in one for the past few weeks. We ( meaning me and my family) are in a transitional phase. Otherwise known as “waiting on the Lord.” This was all well and good until about a week ago when I realized that it has been a year since my husband and I were both in agreement that God was changing direction for our family. It meant stepping away from some things and people we loved , changing our focus and letting Him redirect us in a new way. It’s been a year. A whole year. For anyone who knows me at all, this is shocking. Waiting a year to re-enter ministry? Me? Really?
I look at our circumstances and I am shocked ( and awed by God) all at once.
The past year, we have done little ,in our flesh… but we have diligently sought Him, and learned to let Him love us. It has been a time of healing and huge spiritual growth in us, and our children. It has been a time of reflection, focusing on God, and on each other.
It’s been wonderful.
And then again, it’s been a year.
The other night I had what is known in southern circles as a “good old fashioned come-apart.” Any southern girl reading this knows exactly what I am talking about. It began with a “situation” that caused a growing sense of frustration, then circled into full blown anger, then climaxed in a tearful , rambling , emotional rant with my pieces falling out. ( Thanks, honey, for picking those up and putting them back into place. I so appreciate you!) If you are a woman and have not ever had one of these, I highly recommend it…with someone you trust. Some people will frown upon you and think you are weak for letting your seams show. That is OK… not only did mine show, but I popped a couple.
(The bad thing about having a come apart is that you feel kind of crazy while it’s happening. The good thing is… if you are seeking God before, during and after the come apart.. and refuse to blame anyone for it, and just let God ( and a good man, hopefully the one you married) pull you close and hold you with His ( and his) heart.. He speaks. And He uses him to do it.)
“It’s really going to be OK. I promise.”
God spoke to me directly through my husband. Not for the first time… but there was something different about this. Immediately after, I felt something shift in my heart and spirit. Clouds lifted and love fell down from heaven – and everything was set right in my world again.
I realized… we are following God. We are waiting on GOD. The Creator of the universe Himself has called us to pray, seek Him together, and wait for His instructions.
That alone fills my heart and my spirit with JOY.
I feel something coming, but God needs us to spend time with Him before we are ready. HE is ready… it is US who need the preparation.
From Stephen Altrogge @The Blazing Center:
God tells us it is good for us to wait for him.
The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD. (Lamentations 3:25-26)
Here are a few things God does for us when we wait for him:
- He humbles us
Waiting helps us realize that we are dependent creatures. We’re not the captain of our souls or in charge of our own destiny. We’re not self-sufficient, but we live by every mercy dispensed from God’s hand.
- He teaches us to seek him
Waiting on God is not passive. As we wait, we seek. We pray, we beseech God. We cry out “How long, O Lord?” We ask, and knock and submit our requests to God. If we got what we wanted right away, we wouldn’t draw near to God and we’d miss out on the joy of his presence.
- He teaches us to trust him
While we’re waiting for God to save our child or meet our needs we stretch our faith to the limit. We trust, though all our circumstances tell us to despair. As we wait, our trust grows.
- He builds patience and perseverance into us
The only way to get patience is to have to wait for something. Perseverance only comes through enduring trials, failures and persecution.
- He reveals what is in our hearts
What comes out of your heart when you don’t get what you want? Grumbling? Hard thoughts of God? Or praise and trust? When you can wait with a quiet heart, you know God has done a work in you.
- He helps us to treasure him above the things we are waiting for
He teaches us to find our contentment in him. He is our portion, not anything in this world. Only Jesus can truly satisfy us. No person or thing that we wait for can satisfy us like Christ.
- He makes mercy sweeter when it finally arrives
We appreciate blessings more when we’ve prayed and trusted and waited for them. We appreciate health more after sickness. And how much more will we enjoy our eternal weight of glory after our temporary, light afflictions.
Cheryl Stevens - Words on Wordpress 