Wondering, Waiting, Trusting

                                                                           

Glory in His Holy Name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice!

 1 Chronicles 16:10

Some waiting is hard, some, not so hard. I am waiting to learn about a house we want to buy, a job for someone else, where the Lord will take me in ministry, healing for someone close to me, and answers to prayer concerning so many other things.  I am waiting for the Lord to act in all these circumstances. It doesn’t look like all of these will end up as I had hoped.

Over the years, the way I wait has changed.  It used to be that I would be a little worried and anxious until I saw the results in each situation.  I could get discouraged and confused if things didn’t turn out as I planned.  Over time, as I have watched God work so faithfully, the waiting has become less anxious, more patient, and more positive.  I have learned to trust God to work for my good.  Even if I don’t appreciate what He does initially, I know that all of His decisions are right and good.

There have been times when I wondered how things would turn out, like waiting fifteen months for a house to sell or watching my kids move off to lives of their own, and God consistently worked those things together so we could actually look back and see what a blessing He had given us in His plans.

It has become almost cliché for Christians to say that “all things will work together good”.  Romans 8:28 says it clearly, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.”  The biblical truth is that not everyone can claim this promise, but only those who love God and are called according to His purpose can trust God to work all things together for their good.  As hard as it is to see sometimes, God is faithful to His people.  In our pain or in discouraging circumstances He is at work to improve our outcomes (which He would not define as more money or a better house and car) and offer us blessing upon blessing.

I fear we often miss the blessings because we are wasting time shaking our fists at Him, perhaps not literally, but in our refusal to accept His will.  Some people are so adamantly opposed to His plan that they fail to see the opportunities He has placed before them to serve Him or to serve others.  A move is seen as some kind of punishment, a loss of finances only recognizes the material loss and not the spiritual call from God to draw closer and more dependent on Him.  Even a death is mourned for so long that the child of God fails to see the comfort or the compassion God wants to show her.

He will use all these things for our good if we trust Him to be who He promises to be in the scriptures.  He is our ever present help in times of trouble; He is our refuge, our provider, and our Savior.  We have trusted Him to save us from Hell but we act as if He isn’t able to save us from earthly difficulties.  We lose the blessing.

Trusting God sounds so simple and in the day to day happenings of life, when the kids are healthy and the marriage is fine, when the paychecks are coming and the family is all in harmony – trust is easy.  When stuff happens and life gets harder, we tend to look for and lean on the blessings, forgetting the Blesser and  the times in the past when He has provided and seen us through.

Today, I am trying to remind myself of God’s goodness, to remember how faithful He has been to me, and to my family.  I am so glad that He has placed friends and family around me who can help me to remember what I might forget as things get hard.