I’ll be honest; during the hard times, the really deep, dark, I-can-hardly-breathe times, it can be devastatingly difficult knowing that God could change things… he has all the power and knowledge and ability, and yet He chooses not to do so.  My head knows that this must somehow work for my good, eventually, and that there will be purpose in it, but my little girl heart is asking why my Heavenly Father is allowing such pain and doesn’t seem to be protecting me. 

Then my heart grows faint as I wait and wait and wait some more.  Is there something that you have been waiting on God to answer for so long that it almost doesn’t bear repeating?  You just say “Hey, God?  Well, you know.  Any day now.”

Even though James 1:2-3 tells me to “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.”

The verse that comes to MY mind is John 6:66-69: After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” 

A bit more resignation on my part than “pure joy”.  So I ask myself, what can I learn in the times of waiting?

Be Thankful

Did you know that God tells us to sacrifice thank offerings? When I am truly suffering, being thankful does feel like giving him a sacrifice.  It takes everything I have to do that, and God knows it.

Ps 50:14-15 Sacrifice thank offerings to God, fulfill your vows to the Most High, and call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me.”

Praise Him

Praising him when all of life seems to be falling apart helps me keep my eyes on his long-term goals, on his plans, more than my current trials. To rise above my daily mess and find little blessings that I otherwise might have missed.

Ps 28:6-7 Praise be to the Lord, for he has heard my cry for mercy.  The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.  My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.

Ps 100:3-5 Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.  Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.  For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Ps 42:5 Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.

Serve Gladly

Finding an area to serve can help me get out of my daily routine, connect with others and feel useful, as well as get my mind off my personal struggles for a time.

Joshua 22:5 But be very careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you: to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to keep his commands, to hold fast to him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.”

1 Sam 12:24 But be sure to fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you.

Stand Firm

Lord, to whom shall I go but You?  I will admit that I am not counting my difficulties as pure joy yet, but I AM choosing to trust in the One True Shepherd who leads me by still waters and walks with me through the valley of the shadow of death.

Ps 23:1 The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.

1 Cor 15:58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

Ps 62:5-6 For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him.  He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken.

He is near to me and he loves me.

Isa 43:1-3 Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.  When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.  For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior…

Now I will remind myself to pray for strength, repeat his promises, attend church, listen to praise music, write out scripture, surround myself with encouraging, honest people.  

“To trust God in the light is nothing, but trust him in the dark – that is faith”

~ Charles Spurgeon