How To Thrive When God Asks You To Wait

In our household, 2018 was a year of waiting. For the first 2 months, I was waiting and praying for the healthy delivery of my baby girl. I was large and in pain, ready to see my baby and not feeling very patient about it. Then ironically, after she was here, my hormones told me I was incredibly sad, and I found myself waiting again. When dealing with a case of postpartum depression, I couldn't see my way out of the slump, and it felt like I would spend my whole life waiting for answers from God, for an obvious path in my ministry, in the raising of my children, and in my housing. No obvious paths came, and instead, like the Israelites, I felt like I had been wandering in the desert for most of 2018.In my waiting, and in my frustration, I heard God speaking to my heart. The Holy Spirit reminded me of the things that Jesus said in the Holy Bible.And I gleaned some bits of wisdom from God regarding waiting, and would love to share them with you, in case you are also in a period of waiting, a winding path of frustration with no end in sight... 

Things to remember while you are waiting on God:

• God might be using your waiting to make you holy. If you let God use your wait, He will make you more like Christ through it.
• While we are waiting, God is working.
• God is using our waiting to change us.
• God is using our pain to make us more like Christ, if only we'll let Him.
• Waiting is a reminder that we are not God.
• God uses the uncomfortable waiting to speak deeply to our hearts.

God wants us to use our wait for His glory. We can do that with the right beliefs, and honesty with Him about our worries and doubts.[bctt tweet="God is using our waiting to change us." username="christcentermom"] 

How To Thrive When God Asks You To Wait

 1. Believe God is powerful

“He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names. Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure.” Psalm 147:4-5

Believing God is powerful means that we know He is in charge of what’s happening.He is capable of both helping us and changing our circumstances.Sometimes we feel anxiety in our waiting.You are not at the mercy of your circumstances. God controls every wait.

“For who is God except the Lord? Who but our God is a solid rock? God is my strong fortress, and He makes my way perfect.” 2 Samuel 22:33

 If we believe we have a powerful God who is testing us and discipling us, but do not believe or fully see His love, we might get resentful or bitter. Pray that God will show you more and more of His love... that you might "grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ" (Ephesians 3:18) because when we grasp His love, we experience power (Ephesians 3:16).See also: A Prayer For When You're Waiting On God 

2. Believe God is loving

Believing God is loving means that there is a purpose in all He does, even the minute details.God cares deeply for you. His plans for you are rooted in a love that we don't even fully understand.Jesus wanted us to refer to God as "our Father", a phrase that was viewed as blasphemy by the Pharisees and other religious leaders of Jesus' day.God loves us as a father loves his children. He's watching us grow, wanting so badly to feel our daily pain for us, looking on us with pride, and conversing with us. He wants us to have a deep, fruitful relationship with Him. He wants us to thrive and bear fruit and draw more people into His family.[bctt tweet="God might be using your waiting to make you holy. If you let God use your wait, He will make you more like Christ through it." username="christcentermom"]God is faithful to help us right now.His judgment and timing is always perfectly good.He has promised to give us everything we need (Philippians 4:19). 

3. Remember Jesus wants to carry your burdens

When you know that God is powerful and God is loving but it's still hard to wait, give that burden to Jesus. Jesus said "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28)How perfect. With Christ, we give Him our burdens and He gives us peace. When we give Him our worries, He gives us rest.Give your problems and pain to God. Pain will exist from the crib to the deathbed, but we are called to give our wait, our pain, and our burden to the Father in prayer.Friends, let's remind our hearts of the most amazing news: God is loving, He is powerful, and He wants us to give our burdens to Him. And sister, don't waste your wait. remember how to thrive when God asks you to wait.He is a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness. (Psalm 86:15)See also: Prayers that God will always say YES to!  

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