Sunday, January 27, 2013

God’s Perfect Timing

Today I was looking back through my prayer journal and am SO thankful to be able to write PRAISE next to something we have been praying about for a long time! My oldest sister, Tammie, has several debilitating health issues and is always in a lot of pain, making it really challenging for her to drive and work. We have been praying for her disability to be approved years, and it was FINALLY approved this past week! Praise the Lord!! What a blessing an awesome testimony for her.

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Obviously she had no choice but to wait…but it got me thinking. What are we doing WHILE we are waiting??

I feel like there are so many people WAITING on something right now.

Maybe it’s  a new job. Direction. A ring. A spouse. A baby. An adoption. A house. Healing. A restored relationship. An answer.

I know so many people who have been praying and praying for SOMETHING to happen in their life, and in those moments of waiting, it seems normal to ask “Where is God? Does He even hear me? Does He really care?”

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I wrote a post a while back about waiting on the Lord…but let’s be honest, it is so much easier said than done.

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Here’s what I’m learning. We claim we trust God….and most of us think we trust God. But when it comes down to it, do we REALLY trust Him??

We trust God with our eternity, but it’s so much tougher to trust Him with our NOW. We live in a generation where we like quick fixes, and we expect our prayers to be answered in the same way. Quickly. Preferably in our own time, and in the way we want. We are not content with anything else.

We assume when God doesn’t answer us immediately that He doesn’t hear us; that He isn’t working in our life; that He doesn’t love us; that we have done something wrong and are being punished. It seems like He is blessing everyone else BUT us….and we begin focusing on and comparing our journey with others’. That is NOT at all what God intends.

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Your journey is your own, and God has you EXACTLY where He wants you, and for a reason. Our goal as believers should be to continue to seek Him, draw closer to Him, TRUST Him, and have faith in His works….which includes (as difficult as it may be) accepting HIS TIMING.

God is ALWAYS at work. And God is LOVE. He always has your best interest at heart. He wants the VERY best for you, and that includes HIS perfect timing. We forget that we  can only see right now, but God sees big picture. Sometimes He is busy working other things out so He can bless us above and beyond all we have asked or imagined (Ephesians 3:20). Sometimes he is trying to help us to grow closer to Him….to learn to trust HIM alone, lean ONLY on Him (Proverbs 3:5-6), and develop our faith. When we try to rush things and make things happen in our own timing, we can end up causing ourselves a lot of heartache and pain. I know I have seen this time and time again…particularly when people rush into marriage. We tend to always be thinking of the next step, and sometimes God just wants us to BE STILL. To listen. To let Him finish a work.

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Looking back now, I can see that every time the Lord has had me WAIT on something, He was trying to teach me. To help me grow. To increase my faith. To allow me to encourage others who are going through something similar. To cause me to focus more on Him. To spend more time in His Word and in prayer. To get my attention in some way.

I read a story once (and I can’t remember it EXACTLY, but I know it goes something like this) about a lady who was married to an unbeliever. She went to church (without him) EVERY week… and she prayed for him to come to know the Lord every single day. She told God she didn’t care if it took years, that she would keep praying for Him and she trusted Him to do a work. After ten years of faithfully attending church solo & praying for her husband without seeing any fruits of change, she was discouraged and began to think the Lord wasn’t hearing her prayer. She was tempted to give up. After hearing an encouraging message one Sunday, she decided to continue praying for him. When she went home that Sunday, her husband confessed to her he was ready to accept Christ as his savior. After ten years of faithful praying, her prayer was answered. Now….imagine if she had chosen to give up. She may not have been able to spend eternity with her husband.

So here’s my challenge. If you are in a season of waiting, do not give up. Try not to question God’s timing. Rather, ask Him what He is trying to show you during your waiting. What is it He is wanting to do in your life, right now?? Dig in to the Word, spend more time with Him in prayer, and find comfort and peace in Scriptures that speak to you. And definitely do NOT make a move until you hear clearly from the Lord. So many times we try to rush things and make them happen in our own timing, and like I said, when we do things out of God’s will, that usually results in chaos and heartache. 

And of course, remember….

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There is SO much freedom in trusting God’s PERFECT timing. And it’s such an incredible blessing to look back  and see He was really in control all along, working everything out perfectly, to bless you abundantly.

Some TRUTHS for us to resolve in our hearts & minds:

· I will always have unfulfilled longings this side of Heaven. (Romans 8:23, 25; Ephesians 3:11; Hebrews 11:13-16)

· The deepest longings of my heart cannot be filled by any created person or thing. (Psalm 16:11; 73:25)

· God is enough. If I have Him, I have all I need. (Psalm 23:1, 73:23-26, Colossians 1:9-10)

· God’s love for me is infinite and unconditional. (John 15:13, Romans 5:8, 8:32, 38-39, Ephesians 3:14-19, 1 John 4:7-10)

· I don’t have to perform to earn God’s love or favor. (Ephesians 1:4-6)

· God ALWAYS has my best intentions at heart. (Psalm 21)

· God is good, and everything He does is good. (Psalm 31:19, 34:8, 100:5, 106:1, 119:68, 136:1, Ephesians 1:3-14)

· God never makes mistakes. (Isaiah 46:10, Romans 8:28-39)

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15 comments:

Bailey said...

Thanks for sharing! This really hit home for me. I have been waiting for an answer on a potential new job and been searching with my fiancé for our first home. It's hard to put complete trust in God especially with my type A planner personality. You have encouraged me greatly to wait on His timing

Anna Demko said...

You are such a wise woman! Thank you for sharing your blessing...

happymedley.blogspot.com

Anna Demko said...

I am at Happy Medley and your post inspired me to write something of my own. I linked up to your post and will publish it tom. Thanks again

happymedley.blogspot.com

Unknown said...

Thanks for sharing and inspiring!

A year of Change said...

Wow, I really needed to hear this post today. Life has been a little bumpy lately & I continue to see signs from God about being patient.

So glad to hear that your sisters prayers were answered!

Comforting Grace said...

Danielle, Thank you for this post. My husband and I have been waiting for a child for more than 3 years. We are now in the process of embryo adoption and we are the proud parents of 4 little adopted embabies. We are looking at a possible late March transfer of 1 or 2 of these little ones and praying for me to become pregnant with our adopted child(ren). God works in amazing ways! He is so good, always! :) Many blessings to you.

Ashley said...

Danielle, this was the kinda of post I truly needed to read this morning. Your words were speaking right to me. I'm currently trying my hardest to learn how to deal in "my waiting season" it's been difficult, but I have faith that He's working be hide the scenes. The devil makes it sooo easy sometimes to doubt anythings really happening, but I know better than that. Thank you again for posting this message.

fancy nancy said...

This message of trusting the Lord was exactly what I needed to hear right at this moment and I just wanted to thank you for following His prompting and posting this! I just found out a few minutes ago that my 3 month old will have to have surgery tomorrow on a issue with her eye. While it is a routine surgery I am beyond nervous! This was a reminder for me to not only say I trust God but actually DO it! He has her in His hands and that is the best place for her!!!

Tickled Pink Mandy said...

Such a beautifully written post. Thank you for writing and reminding me.

Kelly said...

This was just what I needed to hear! My husband and I are trying to have a baby and it just hasn't happened for us yet! Thanks for the reminder!!!

Brittany said...

I stumbled across your blog & am I ever so happy I did. This is EXACTLY what I needed today. I was just saying pretty much the same thing to my fiance and while trying to encourage him found myself having trouble trusting in God's timing. Thank you for posting such an inspiring post!

Anonymous said...

Wow! This is exactly what I needed to read today. The waiting season is a very difficult one. Your post reminded me that the Lord is great and I need to trust in His timing. I get impatient but this reminded me that I need to trust in Him fully and that He has a plan for me. Thank you :D

Anna Demko said...

Danielle! Me, again!
I nominated you for the Liebster Award over at my blog. Check it out!

happymedley.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

Love this post!!

Heather said...

Hi Danielle - I just recently found your blog (thru Kelly's Korner healthy link up) and have enjoyed reading your posts about health and your pregnancy. Congratulations on sweet little Jase - I was excited to see he arrived healthy!
But I just randomly clicked your devotional tag link today and this one really smacked me right between the eyes. You are an amazing woman of faith - thank you for sharing this (and the others).
I have a 20 month old little girl and we are talking about another one. I find myself trying to plan our next five years out as we work to pay off student loans so I can only work part time, build my photography business and figure out child care from now till kindergarten. I know that I should just trust that God has gone before me and has it mapped out so beautifully I can't even imagine. But impatience and my need to be in control gets the best of me.. I just really needed these words today, even though you wrote them months ago.
Thank you for your blog and sharing your life and faith (and healthy lifestyle). It is encouraging to this momma from PA!
Heather