Waiting on God

Today I found myself overly stressed out. There are so many things up in the air right now that I was overwhelmed (the list is too long to write out now!). I usually do pretty well with not dwelling on uncertainty and just taking things a day at a time and allowing God to lead and provide, but it all it me hard today. I was wondering about the timing of certain things and thinking, why are things so hard? How will we ever do this? I was wishing for things to be easy.

Fortunately, God communicates in many ways including speaking through others and soon I was reminded to trust in God's timing. My husband reminded me that we work in God's timing. Someone else told me not to worry, God has it under control and another person, who emails out daily devotions, sent out today's about waiting on God's timing. So I have to pray away the anxiety and stress and simply trust. Trust the Lord to work things out and/or give me the strength to deal with them when they seem incredibly hard or impossible.

So if you are struggling with the timing of life's happenings (whether big or small, short term or long), be encouraged. It will be ok. Simply pray away the anxiety and choose to trust God. Remember the times in the past when God has helped you and dwell on His faithfulness instead of all the uncertainty around you. We can focus on that and make ourselves sick with worry or we can live in God's peace no matter what our circumstances are.

Here is the the devotion I got today. I pray it blesses someone like it did me.

June 27

Requirements of Waiting

Psalm 25:3-5

3 Indeed, none of those who wait for You will be ashamed; Those who deal treacherously without cause will be ashamed. 4 Make me know Your ways, O LORD; Teach me Your paths. 5 Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; For You I wait all the day.

Waiting for God's timing is neither passive nor idle--it takes discipline and commitment. I can think of four basic requirements for successful waiting.

Faith. The Lord's ways and timing are nothing like ours (Isa. 55:8-9). From a human standpoint, He usually does things in a totally different way than we expect. But as we trust Him more, we'll discover that His approach isn't so strange after all. And when we live in harmony with God's will, His timing starts to make sense.

Humility. To wait for the Lord, you must be convinced of your need for Him. Submission to His divine will requires humility--you cannot charge ahead with your own plans and at the same time be fully surrendered to God.

Patience. Are you willing to remain in your current position until you receive clear divine direction? Pausing for clarity from God does not mean that you disengage and allow circumstances to fall apart around you. Waiting upon the Lord is a deliberate decision that requires patience.

Courage. Waiting for God often takes courage, especially when there is pressure to act. If you're not careful, you might stop listening to the Lord and follow other advice. So keep your ear attuned to the voice of Almighty God, and you won t go wrong.

Waiting upon the Lord is one of the wisest, most important decisions we make in life. And contrary to popular assumptions, it is an active endeavor that requires faith, humility, patience, and courage. When you rely upon God and wait for His timing, the various facets of life fall into place.