Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Trusting God’s Timing

I wrote a post a while back about Waiting on the Lord's Timing…and I truly think this is one of the bigger challenges in many of our walks.

Why is it so INCREDIBLY difficult for us to fully trust God’s timing and WAIT on Him? We trust God to provide all of our needs, to take care of us, and we trust Him with our eternity….yet when things don’t happen in OUR timing, we begin to question Him.

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If we’re real about it, it’s a lack of faith (although we don’t like to admit it). This is one area where the flesh takes over and we don’t even realize it…usually because we think we’re “doing everything right.” (i.e. praying fervently, reading the Word, seeking Godly counsel)

I know so many times I’ve been guilty of “planning out my life” and asking the Lord to bless MY plans. I’ve learned that this is not what God desires for us. Sometimes it makes us feel better to do it this way because we feel like we are in control (although we know we’re not)….and then we call it a ‘trial’ when things don’t go exactly as planned. The Bible tells us our desire should be to seek the Lord and HIS will for our lives, which includes HIS timing…and sometimes this requires us to WAIT. Maybe for a day, a week, a month, a year…maybe longer. And it is HARD when we try to “wait” in our own flesh.  We question if God hears us & if He is doing anything in our lives. I know I have a tough time in the “waiting” phases because I feel like I always need to be doing something. Sometimes God wants us to just REST in Him(and this is VERY different from being idle) and SEEK Him so we can grow in our faith and learn to fully trust Him- with everything!

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We know that the Lord knows best and plans to prosper and not harm us. He is FOR us and wants to protect, provide, and see us flourish (spiritually- which is definitely the biggest blessing). He has GREAT plans for us, and this is what is so reassuring to me when I’m having trouble trusting His timing. We can take comfort knowing that God sees the WHOLE big picture. Although we only know what’s going on in our life at this moment, the Lord is omniscient and omnipotent…meaning He may be working things out all around us (that we have no idea about) and this may be something that is going to take T-I-M-E.  It is mind blowing to think about how BIG God really is! I know I can look back on certain things in my life and understand EXACTLY why they happened the way the did and what He was trying to teach me, although at the time I felt so uncertain.

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Any time I have tried to push…to rush things to make them fit into “my plan,” it has ended in chaos. I see this time and time again in the lives of others when they rush into decisions that ‘feel right’ without seeking the Lord. I know that is so hard (again, only in our own flesh), especially when we want something SO BAD. “Follow your heart” may honestly be some of the WORST advice I have ever heard, yet it one of the most common pieces of advice given. Our heart & emotions can mislead us…but God never will.

Even when I felt like nothing was happening, God was at work. There is nothing more precious than being in the Lord’s presence, and that’s His desire. He wants us to constantly seek Him and draw close to Him, and that’s how we grow. That’s how He increases our faith & teaches us things.  It is so frustrating when we try to depend on ourselves, but the Lord blesses us when we turn it over to Him and FULLY trust Him.

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I LOVE hearing stories of God’s perfect timing!! There are so many testimonies of this that remind us that He is always at work, even when we can’t see Him working. I even try to remember this in little things…like if I’m running late and there is traffic. Maybe that’s His way of protecting me from being in an accident?

When we get in the habit of fully trusting God’s timing with EVERYTHING….even seemingly small things…it becomes easier to trust His timing with the big things too.

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It’s so important to never make a move until you hear clearly from the Lord.  We know when He is speaking to us because our circumstances, the Word, our prayers, and Godly counsel will all line up.

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“For you have need of steadfast patience and endurance, so that you may perform and fully accomplish the will of God, and thus receive and carry away and enjoy to the full what is promised.”- Hebrews 10:36


“But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.” –Romans 8:25


“I waited patiently and expectantly for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry.” –Psalm 40:1

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4 comments:

London Eye Hotels said...

That is true, God created us and we are under his arms. If we want something he will do at the time, but humans’ nature is to question God if it gets delay.

Jamie said...

Thank you for posting this. It was the perfect little reminder just when I needed it most.

Gentel McKenney said...

Linking up from blog-every-day-in-may! I love the "praise god in the hallway while you wait" image! So true!! Great post :)

Erica Ashley said...

Found your blog through the link up! I LOVE this! I actually blogged something similar, but you said it much better! Thank you for this beautiful post :)