I am a Christian, a retired teacher, a mother and a grandmother. I love to read and I love the Lord Jesus Christ! Unless otherwise specified ,all visual illustrations are from the YOU VERSION APP of the Bible.
Have you ever thought about the fact that sometimes things don’t work out the way we had expected? But it all turns out okay in the end because God is right there.
I read in my devotional today that Abram turned aside from the promised land to go to Egypt because there was a famine in the land that God was sending him to. What? In Egypt, Abram got a little off the path of faith because instead of trusting God to take care of him and Sarai, he told her to tell Pharoah that she was his sister. Read Genesis 12 for the entire story.
Sometimes we are a lot like Abram. We expect one thing, get another, and then we try to help God by taking matters into our own hands. Believe me when I say that is never a good idea. I haven’t read a single scripture in which God tells man that He could really use his help. Actually, God is generally waiting for us to call on Him for help and then to be patient as we wait for His answer.
The “they” in these verses refers to Paul and Barnabas, the missionary duo in the book of Acts. Notice the last part of the verse. If these two men who had been imprisoned, beaten and cast out of cities because of their witness recognize that entering the kingdom of God is not a stroll in the park, then who are we to expect that?
God promises that in spite of our wandering off the path (also known as His best plan for us) and in spite of our insisting on going our own way, He does not abandon us. That is quite a promise to hold on to. Neither does God abandon His plan for us. He has a plan and He will fulfill it; we just need to be so in tune with God that we trust His plan to unfold, in His time, not ours.
Our response is to speak with a confident testimony to all of the scoffers and doubters around us. We don’t need to be afraid of them because God is still helping us, sometimes out of the mess that we got ourselves into.
I found this song to apply to my post today and hope that you enjoy it as much as I have. It speaks to the scriptures above and trusting God for all things in all times.
In order for Noah to have an ark to go into for safety, he had to obey God and build it. God didn’t make the ark and tell him, “Here you go! Your safe space is ready for you!” Instead, Noah had to pick up his tools and work hard at building a huge boat for which he was ridiculed. Think about it. You’re doing what God tells you to do and everyone else is making fun of you. Hmm. Sounds somewhat familiar at times, doesn’t it?
When Noah finished building the ark (after about a hundred years), God told him it was time to go into it. It’s a good thing that Noah was tuned in to God’s instructions. We need to have that same mindset…just do what God says to do and the reason may/may not be told to us later, but it will be a good one.
Why was Noah called into the ark? Because God saw him as righteous before Him. The world was a wicked place, kind of like our world today. The only way we can be righteous before God is to accept His Son as our Lord and Savior. When we have done that and become the Christians that He desires us to be, adopted into His family, then we are invited into the ark. The ark is not a physical boat of safety. Rather, it is the place we can always turn to in order to be safe from the world’s temptation and sin. We are invited to go in, but we have to take the steps to get there. God will not shove us into a place of safety; rather, He woos us with love and patience, reassuring us constantly that He knows what is best for us.
There is a lot we can learn from Noah…obedience, listening for God to speak and doing what God says when He says it. We have a shelter provided from all of the storms of life. That doesn’t mean that there won’t be storms, just that we won’t suffer all of the consequences that we would without an ark to take refuge in.
From the YouVersion Bible App Devotional, “Advent, Day 8”
Peace Helps Us Belong
The holiday season is special for a number of reasons. For many, it’s an opportunity to gather with family and loved ones to celebrate Christmas together. It’s a season for belonging.
At the same time, we all have those family members or friends who put us on edge, even just a little bit. If we’re not careful, our differences and tensions bring division and crush unity.
However, there is a source of deep, unbreakable peace. As followers of Jesus, we are part of the family of God. We have a kind of belonging that cannot be taken from us by others because it was given to us by God.
When we remember the ultimate family we’re in, we’re able to empathize with the people around us—even the ones who sometimes rub us the wrong way.
Peace is a state of wholeness, calm, and renewal between us, God, and others. So when we experience peace, it has the power to fight division and bring wholeness to all of our relationships.
From the very beginning of the Bible, we see how God works with and through people to lead everyone to be at peace with one another. One example of this is the story of a shepherd named Abraham.
In Genesis 12, we see God promising blessings to, and through, Abraham.
“I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” Genesis 12:2-3 NIV (emphasis added)
Still, like nearly everyone in the Bible, Abraham had moments of conflict with his family and with others around him. But these moments didn’t disqualify him from God’s promises or God’s family.
It was from Abraham’s family line that Jesus, our ultimate Peacemaker, would be born. Through Jesus, we’re able to be made whole and complete in our relationship with God.
And in Revelation 14:6, we learn that this good news and invitation to God’s family is a free gift offered to everyone—to every nation, tribe, language, and people.
Today, we can have peace because we belong to God’s family.
Pause and Pray:
God, thank You for Your love for humanity. You have always been gracious to me, even when I didn’t deserve it. Thank You for blessing all people, including me, through Your one and only Son, Jesus. Please give me Your peace that surpasses all understanding. In Jesus’ name, amen.
My Thoughts
I don’t know about you readers out there in the blogosphere, but I do know that I have not been feeling much peace this week. I have felt anxious about decorating (and I really only put out a few things and decorate the tree). I am even now anxious about completing my shopping. Why do I wait until December to shop? Well, that’s when I have the money all saved to do it and I anticipate the first of December every year. But then, I have to wait for people to give me ideas about what to buy and then when I choose things, I find out that they will be shipped later than Christmas. It just seems that one thing after another blocks my good intentions and the result is anything but peace.
When I read the definition of peace in today’s devotional, I read it again…and again. I highlighted it in red above just in case you need to read it multiple times, too. I am made whole by God. I can feel peace even during turmoil because He gives me His peace. And every day is a new day to establish better and renewed relationships between me and God and others. I don’t have to wait for my sister to give me “permission” to call her. I can call at any time and just express love and concern for her. Peace is a hard thing for me in this season of busyness, but I am finding if I just sit quietly for a little while I can get more accomplished than if I frantically try to do everything in a short period of time.
It is a real consolation to me that I am a part of God’s family and that I can share things here with my brothers and sisters online, knowing that you will not judge me but will pray for me and perhaps even identify with some of the same issues that I have. God sent His Son in order to adopt us into His family, a family that doesn’t judge but rather offers love and acceptance.
Today is a day of rest for me. I didn’t sleep late, but I do get to go to church and fellowship with others as I learn more about God. Then, after church, I can rest and not work on lists of things to do. In that I find peace.
From the YouVersion Bible App Devotional, “Advent, a 25-Day Countdown to Christmas, Day 4”
God Is With You Always
Yesterday, we left off in the exile, when God’s people were trapped in a faraway nation. Yet, many had hope. Why? Because they knew God wasn’t done writing their story. In exile, they looked to past evidence of God’s care.
One of those stories was the story of Elijah. Elijah was a prophet who lived a few generations before the exile. A prophet is someone who speaks truth from God to people in power.
Elijah’s greatest threats were the king and queen of Israel, Ahab and Jezebel. Throughout Elijah’s story, he constantly let them know that their words and actions weren’t honoring God. But they didn’t listen. Instead, they doubled-down and even attempted to have Elijah killed.
Despite immense pressure in a hostile environment, Elijah remained faithful to God. And through his work, God led many people to know Him.
But Elijah still had moments where his hope ran out. On one occasion, right after a dramatic showdown with rival prophets, he felt intense despair.
Despair is the opposite of hope. It’s the feeling that the world is against you, and you’re doomed to fail. Have you ever felt despair?
Elijah hid in the wilderness and wished for death. But God met him in his despair and brought him food and water. Then, He invited Elijah to go to a mountain. There, Elijah had a powerful encounter with God that reaffirmed God’s care. This experience renewed Elijah’s hope and gave him the strength he needed to continue his mission.
Despair can overwhelm us, as it did for Elijah. Despair lies to us, telling us we’re alone and doomed to fail. But God offers hope. Hope is the wholehearted, evidence-based conviction that God is making the future better than the past or present.
When we look at how God provided for people in the past, it can give us hope for a better future today. For anyone dealing with despair, remembering stories like Elijah’s can be a source of strength. They remind us to have courage, no matter what opposition might come our way.
So, do you feel despair today? Maybe it’s about a relationship you’re about to give up on or a dream that feels like it’s dead. No matter what it is, God wants to infuse you with hope.
Sometimes life doesn’t go our way and we end up facing intense opposition. But God is still with us. We can face today with confidence, believing the best is yet to come.
Pause and Pray:
Lord, thank You for being patient with me. Thank You that when I feel hopeless, You are always there to renew my hope. Help me to fix my eyes on You and trust in You with my whole heart. In Jesus’ name, amen.
My Thoughts
For years, I went to an infusion center monthly to receive a biological medication to help with my asthma. The infusion actually consisted of an injection in my lower arm and then I had to wait a minimum of half an hour to make sure that I did not have a bad reaction. So, with that in mind, I was interested in the use of the word infusion with hope in this devotional. The infusion I had replaced some allergen cells with cells that would fight against allergies, or at least that’s the way I understood it. And the hope that God infuses us with replaces the despair we feel over what we consider a hopeless situation. Nothing is hopeless to God because nothing is impossible for Him to do.
The story of Elijah in I Kings 19 is a testimony to God’s provision even when our faith is low or non-existent. Elijah had just defeated the prophets of Baal and then Queen Jezebel says she plans to kill him. Instead of leaning into God, he got afraid (let’s face it, we probably would get scared, too) and ran away and hid in the wilderness. There God fed him and God personally assured him that he was not the only prophet left. If Elijah can get discouraged so completely and still hear from God, then we can, too. We just have to be listening. Sometimes, I think we listen to the circumstances and fear the consequences, running away from God instead of toward Him.
I needed this reminder today and every day. I have a tendency to withdraw when I am feeling upset. I am trying to train myself to reach out to God and tell Him exactly how I am feeling, whether it’s frustration, anger or grief. After all, He already knows; I am the one who needs to get it out of my system by talking it over with God.
I like the scripture illustrated above that reminds us that our suffering is not just so that we can suffer and move on. We learn a lesson each time we go through something hard, if we just allow God to teach us. At the very least, we learn to persevere through it, to pray and keep on praying, to trust and keep on trusting, to be faithful to God because He is always faithful to us. He will infuse us with hope if we let Him.
From the YouVersion Bible App, “Advent: 25 Day Countdown to Christmas,” Day 2
How Can We Have Hope?
Is your life going to get better, or will it get worse?
How about the world? Will it get better, or will things spiral further out of control?
Or what about a person in your life who keeps making hurtful choices? Will they change? Or are they doomed to keep causing pain?
Delightful questions to start day two of a Christmas Bible Plan, right?
So why did we ask these questions? Because how you answer reveals your hope.
It’s easy for life to steal your hope, even if you’re naturally a “glass-half-full” kind of person. Tragedies, unrest, division, aging, and natural disasters can make it easy to feel like our best days are behind us or impossible to reach.
But is that true? Or could it be possible that by reflecting on the story of Scripture, we can find real, resilient, and realistic hope? The kind of hope that can keep you afloat, no matter your circumstances.
First, what is hope?
Hope is the wholehearted, evidence-based conviction that God is making the future better than the past or present.
Sounds great, but what evidence? Well, let’s go back in time to over 2,000 years ago.
In those days, in a province of the Roman empire called Judea, people were low on hope. Most of the evidence from the past told them to give up. A handful of powerful empires had steamrolled their people, and it seemed like their story was almost finished.
But God was still writing their story. And through both prophets and ordinary people, His message of hope spread throughout Judea: a promise He wouldn’t leave them alone in the darkness, but would come to save His people when the time was right.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. It’s only day two, after all. For today, ask yourself, “How’s my hope?” Ask God to help you renew your hope in Him.
Pause and Pray:
Thank You, God, for making me new in You. When things feel out of control or painful, please help me to remember that You’re working. Help me to build my hope step by step until I have complete faith in You. In Jesus’ name, amen.
My Thoughts
I have always been a “glass half empty” kind of person, thinking that if things are going well now, all I have to do is wait and something bad will happen. Generally, I have not been disappointed in my low expectations. God has been working on me to help me overcome this negativity. I am better, but I am not there yet and I know it, so I have to continue to press into the promises in the Scriptures in order to keep myself focused on God and not on what might possibly happen. The middle scripture above is just right for me!
I like that the devotional points out that God is making the future better. I look back on my younger years and remember having energy, a fulfilling job and children at home. I miss those years. Presently, I am aging and right now I am sore from wrestling with a toddler who wanted constant attention and for me to pick him up and hold him, even when he was very wiggly. Do I like feeling sore? No, but I know that the soreness will pass but the memories I made with my grandchildren will last. I don’t know what the future holds, but I do know Who holds my future and I am confident that He will bring me closer to Him even as I move away from life on earth. That is a future to look forward to!
Because of Jesus, when I find myself discouraged, I can go right before God, into His holy presence and tell Him exactly how I am feeling. He already knows anyway, so being honest with Him is the only way to go. Once I do that, I usually feel encouraged. Why? Because I am not carrying the burden alone; Jesus has taken the burden away from me and that helps me to see things more realistically and with a hope that comes from His steadfast love and faithfulness.
I trust that you are enjoying the days leading up to the greatest holiday of the year. Christmas is a time to renew our hope in the Lord and to show others how hopeful we are. It’s not about who is President or the wars going on in the world. It’s all about Jesus! He’s where our hope lies!
From the YouVersion Bible App Devotional, “A God Who Is Faithful”, Day 7
Old Testament Connection
People broke the relationship with God that he had established. The creation and the Creator were once tethered together by a life-giving relationship, and humanity broke the bond by sinning against their Creator. Since that moment, life has been filled with pain and frustration because it has not had the life-giving power of God flowing through it. But God loves people too much to leave them in this condition, so he made a series of promises to bring his people out of it.
The Bible speaks of a “new covenant” that God makes with his people. This covenant does not depend on people’s ability to fulfill it by loving and being faithful to God. Instead, this covenant depends on God. In this covenant, God promises to help his people obey his law (Jer 31:31 – 34). God also promises to bring his people from death to life and to care for them forever (Eze 37:24 – 26). The author of Hebrews declared that God has fulfilled and accomplished that covenant through Jesus. The sacrifice of the great high priest Jesus supersedes all Old Testament rituals. Jesus, therefore, fulfilled the Old Testament laws. He fulfilled the terms of the covenant by being the priest who presides over the covenant. He is the priest who brings his people into the presence of God (Heb 10:19).
Today’s Prayer:
Jesus, thank you for the new covenant. Thank you for bringing me out of death and into life. Amen.
My Thoughts
It never gets old for me to be reminded of the new covenant that God has established through the sacrifice of His Son Jesus. God set the terms of the agreement and God works to make sure that it is fulfilled. What we have to do is accept the sacrifice and then dedicate our lives to living for the Creator who gave us life and then renewed that life through Jesus. That is the good news of the new covenant and the reason we can share our joy this season!
From the YouVersion Bible App Devotional, “A God Who Is Faithful,” Day 6
Sanctification
Sanctification is simply the process of becoming more like God. Believers become more like him in holiness out of gratitude to God for what he’s done in their lives. The Greek word “sanctify” means “to set apart” for God’s special plans. Paul urged the new believers in Thessalonica to live this kind of life, outlining that it was God’s will for them to walk with Jesus, thus pleasing God with their lives (1Th 4:1,3). He expressed that holy living is very practical and that rejecting the instruction of God brings consequences (v. 8). God has called his people to make daily choices through a different lens: the lens of gospel truth.
When someone puts their faith in Christ, he or she has been sanctified, or “made holy” through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ once and for all (Heb 10:10). Sin is completely wiped away, death is defeated and eternal life is at hand. This is the good news! At the same time, the believer enters into a lifelong process of being purified and becoming more like God through the power of the Holy Spirit (1Th 4:8). [Emphasis added by me] Paul echoes this reality, declaring that God would sanctify the Thessalonians “through and through,” and keep them “blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1Th 5:23).
Followers of Jesus today can hold on to that promise, for “the one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it” (1Th 5:24).
Today’s Prayer:
Jesus, thank you for the work you are doing in my heart and in my life. Please continue to sanctify me until that day when I join you in paradise. Amen.
My Thoughts
My thoughts are simple this morning. God is still working on me and will continue to work on me to make me holy and like Jesus every day of my life on earth. I am glad that He is patient and full of mercy and He never gives up on me!
From YouVersion Bible App, Devotional, “In a Boat in the Middle of a Lake”, Day 5
God wired us for home. And to a certain degree, our earthly homes are supposed to be miniature Edens. For many of us, home is where we first experience what it means to be loved. It’s where we discover the security of belonging. Homes don’t just define where we live, but in many ways, they define who we are. Which is why leaving home can be so hard. But even these homes we have to eventually leave.
So it’s no surprise that we all experience homesickness in different ways and in different seasons. Eventually we leave our home, but our longing for home, the one God made us for, never leaves us. We all live with that “memory.” We never outgrow homesickness.
We were not born in Eden but outside of it. And as beautiful as this life is, it’s not enough. It’s temporary. A prelude of sorts, of what is to come. It’s why the New Testament describes us as “exiles” and “foreigners” (1 Peter 2:11).
God has made us to hunger and thirst, long and wait, for a new home. A greater home. A restoration of what went wrong in the Garden of Delight. The road to this home is bumpy. It’s full of suffering and weakness and pain. But the weeping is meant to be like a welcome mat. Instead of feeling homesick for the place behind us, we begin to long for a home that is ahead of us.
You might be in a boat in the middle of a lake. But you are not alone. And that lake has another side. One Jesus has promised to get you to. “Let us go over to the other side,” Jesus said. There will be many storms. Some smaller. And maybe some bigger. But there is a shore. We’ll say it again: there is a shore.
The promise of safe arrival.
Rest.
Renewal.
Victory.
Home.
God’s presence. . . .
So let us press on in the storm. Let’s continue to trust the God who meets us in our storm.
Your chaos will cease. It will not last. You have a future. We have a future. And it’s a future filled with God’s goodness and love and beauty. It’s a future filled with God himself
My Thoughts
I am not sure anyone can understand the life of a military wife except another military wife. In a little more than thirty years, we moved twenty-five times. We would stay at a base for two-three years and then move on to the next one, as my husband pursued his career and a higher rank. I hated that lifestyle but I really loved the people that I encountered and the lessons that I learned from all of that change that I was forced to make, not to mention the independence that I had to learn since I was alone a lot of the time. You see, we didn’t just move. Each time we moved, each new place generally required a new school for my husband to attend while I stayed in the new location and took care of the children. When Harry was in the navy, it meant months (almost a year sometimes) of being alone in a new place. And one year, there was a remote tour to Iceland for a year while the children and I stayed in South Carolina. Lots of adventures, but no real home!
I remember telling my husband in Arkansas that I just wanted a stable home, a place that I could build memories for me and the kids. Alas! That never really happened! We did eventually purchase a home in Pennsylvania when Harry was getting ready to retire, but I couldn’t find a teaching job there, so once again, we moved, this time for me. Suffice it to say that I have been a little perplexed about what God’s plan for me has been. Until I met and married Harry, I had lived in one town all of my life and one home for most of my life. Now, suddenly, I felt uprooted, a stranger in a strange land…over and over again.
Today’s devotional pointed me in the right direction and reminded me that all of this time I have been moving around, Jesus was right there with me. He is still working to bring me safely to shore and to my “forever home.” We have a home now that Harry and I live in alone since our children are grown and have their own families. It does my heart good to know that they are settled into homes of their own and have been there, in the same place, for over a decade now. That is what I wanted so badly for them and for me when they were growing up. But Jesus was gracious to keep me through all of those moves and to grant the desire of my heart for my children to have what I considered a “real home.”
I am grateful for each new experience that the Lord has allowed me to have and for His mercy that He has shed on me, even as I whined and complained about more boxes and another new place. I had the opportunity to go to places I would never have chosen to see, much less live there. I have seen how people lived in the cotton fields in Arkansas and in the bitter winters of northern Maine. I have made friends in eleven different states and met people from churches who welcomed me wholeheartedly, even though they knew I would only be there a short while before the military would move us. I learned acceptance, resilience and how to adapt even when I was a reluctant learner.
I like the word picture of “safe to shore” No matter what life’s circumstances, there is a shore we are headed for, and all of the trials of today will be worth it. We just have to hold onto that hope that He placed in our hearts on the day of our salvation.
From YouVersion Devotional, “In a Boat in the Middle of a Lake”, Day 3
When Jesus first called some of the disciples, they were casting their fishing nets into the water. They were mending nets on the shore. Dry ground was underneath their feet. When Jesus said, “Come follow me,” they followed. “I will make you fishers of men,” he told them. We would imagine following Jesus sounded fun. Exciting and full of adventure. It probably seemed like a great work, a work of God, they were signing up for. A lot like when we first believed. We gladly received God’s love. We felt his presence. He gave us new identities as sons and daughters. We could see his goodness and faithfulness. Like those first disciples, early in the journey we, too, were excited.
Or maybe Jesus calling the disciples was like when God first called you to a new ministry, a new job, or a new season in life. And yet this journey of following Jesus is full of surprises, isn’t it? The path is not always straight. The terrain is not always smooth. Sometimes there is water. And storms. Interruptions, we might say.
But we discover Jesus not only wants to work through us but needs to work in us. And this is no secondary work of lesser importance. He doesn’t just want to get us from one side of the lake to the other. He uses the “middle.”
The storm we are facing is never a threat to God’s work; it is often a tool for God’s work. Suffering might feel like an interruption to us, but it is instrumental to Jesus.
Undoubtedly, suffering was not God’s plan. He hates evil. All of the sickness, pain, disease, loss, and death we experience is the result of Adam and Eve’s first sin (Gen. 3). Things are not the way they once were in God’s original creation. And they are not what they will one day be when Jesus renews all things and does away with the messiness and brokenness and sin we are all living with. But God can and does use suffering in this life for his redemptive purposes.
Note that I added the emphasis.
My Thoughts
Well, I can and do believe that God can and does use our suffering as a tool. I don’t think He causes it, but He can use it to teach us and draw us closer to Him. What I have difficulty with is “rejoicing in my suffering.” I am more likely to be whining a little bit, praying a lot and hoping that it will all be over soon. But, if I see things the way God sees them, then I am seeing the end result, that I will be better off after having gone through whatever pain it is I am suffering. I want my character to be more like that of Jesus and if the only way to get there is suffering, then, I’m okay with that. Not thrilled, mind you, but I can submit to it and wait for God to strengthen me and make me a better person from it.
My father was a mechanic, and he was all about having his tools in the right place for him to be able to access them quickly and use them. He didn’t use them to make the car break down more. He was using those tools to repair the car and to make it run better. That is what God is doing every time I go through trials or suffering. He is helping me to run the race to the end better.
Right now, I have another infection. Sinus, bronchitis? I don’t know what I have right now but I know I am using my inhalers, nebulizer and other OTC meds until I can be checked by the doctor on Monday and hopefully get the antibiotics I need to fight it off. Meanwhile, I am a little discouraged, just to be honest. I was giving thanks that I had made it through the month of October without getting sick and then…bam! Sneezing, coughing and wheezing. Not fun, but it’s part of my life since I was born with asthma. Can God heal me? Yes, I know He can. But that doesn’t seem to be His plan for me. Like Paul with his thorn, I just have to accept it and do the best I can living with it.
Meanwhile, I am praying that I will learn what God wants me to learn and be a good witness to others about His faithfulness and loving care. The tools He uses are to make me a better person, not to destroy me. I truly believe that, and I hope that you do, too.
There Was Jesus: In the Waiting (You Version Devotional, “There Was Jesus” by Zach Williams)
One of the things we all can agree on is that, as a culture, we’re not good at waiting; we’ve invented so many ways to get out of waiting in lines, waiting on food to cook and waiting for paint to dry. I’ll admit, I’ve been conditioned to expect things quickly and right when I ask. When I read a verse like Isaiah 40:31, where it lists out the wonderful things that can happen when we wait on God, it’s challenging to follow through, especially when times are tough. I believe our impatience comes from our need to remain in control. It’s scary and goes against what we naturally want to do in most situations; hold tight and only trust ourselves. God has given us guidance on the best way to live, and sometimes, the best way to allow God to have control of a situation is to wait on Him. It requires existing in a space that feels unknown, trusting in His process, and believing that He has a plan for our lives. Easier said than done, right? What should we be doing during the waiting? Romans 12:12 tells us to be “constant in prayer.” While we’re waiting on God’s timing, prayer helps connect us to Him and helps us to focus our faith. Ephesians 4:2 tells us that we should spend our time loving others, being gentle with each other, and to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called.” Basically, God has asked us to trust Him with the timing, but to walk along with Him in the meantime.
Waiting on God doesn’t mean we’re separated from Him. He’s always right alongside us. Exodus 14:14 tells us, “The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.” He’s fighting for us and with us in the waiting and the searching, every minute and every moment.
My Thoughts
I don’t know about you, but waiting is hard for me. I am not so much “in an instant”as in my own timing. I don’t like to wait because, as the author of the devotional wrote, it means I have to relinquish my control over something. Change and waiting throws me, every time. I try to be in prayer and wait, but I get anxious, and my blood pressure soars. I try not to be anxious, but that doesn’t work because in trying not be anxious, I get more anxious. It’s like I am on a Ferris wheel, stuck on the top and unable to get off or to make the thing move and get me back down to the ground. So, I am working on learning to calm my thoughts and think about Jesus walking beside me, or even sitting in that Ferris wheel next to me, holding my hand and asking me to tell Him about my day. I’m glad that He is patiently still working on me.
This morning, I got up early and got ready for my appointment with my neurologist. Every year since my stroke, I have to go in to get a Doppler on my carotid artery. The procedure isn’t painful so it’s not a big deal. That is, until an hour and a half before I am supposed to leave, the doctor’s office calls, says there is a problem with today’s schedule and wants me to come in tomorrow. You would think that I would roll with the punches, as they say, just write down the new time and move on. Well, instead, I had to juggle another appointment to take my car in for brake work and there were two changes to the schedule this week already. Not bad, right? Unless you have my body and my mind which has its own way of dealing with change and waiting…my blood pressure soared and I had to take my extra pill that is only for such occasions as this. As my husband says, I am not conditioned for change because change in my home growing up meant my mom would get angry and I would be the target. I have basically spent my whole life trying to avoid change, but then along comes God who wants me to get accustomed to it so He can teach me that change is not a bad thing. I am now putting myself into His capable and loving hands and praying for my BP to regulate so my head will stop pounding. I am doing my deep breathing exercises and reading my Bible while I also pray. There is no magic formula for me to de-stress when change happens, but believe it or not, I am getting better at accepting the waiting part of change. My body still reacts physically, but my heart is calmer, knowing that the Lord is right beside me. He is waiting, too, for me to be calm enough to listen. So, appointment tomorrow…no problem! Car on Wednesday, not a big deal. God’s got this and me, in His hands and He is molding me to be more like him. After all, that is what I have been praying for. And if this change and waiting stuff is what it takes, then I am ready to fight that stress battle with the Lord holding my hand and speaking in my ear!
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