What do you think the disciples where thinking the day after Good Friday when Jesus was crucified? Just think of the thoughts that must have been racing through their heads that day. “He was the Messiah, how could this have happened?”, “What are we supposed to do now?”, “Where are we going to go, because if they recognize us, we may suffer the same fate?”. You want to talk about sitting in God’s waiting room! Not understanding, not only what just happened in your life, but also WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO NOW?
In life, we are going to encounter times when something happens that we just don’t understand. Maybe a sudden job loss strikes, marriage difficulties arise, there's a bad medical diagnosis, or we lose a loved one, where we find ourselves looking skyward asking, “Why? I don’t understand!”. Therein lies the test. The time we spend in between these situations and a resolution is the “wait”. We can handle the “wait” in two ways. We can search around for answers and evidence for why this is happening to us, in hopes of then coming up with a verdict as to the “why,”…OR…we can trust that God knows the “why” and that He knows what He’s doing. That is what we call FAITH. When we approach difficult issues with FAITH, we “begin” (not end) with the VERDICT. We may say something like, “God, I may not understand what’s going on right now, but I know that YOU do, and that’s good enough for me.” That is showing God we can’t handle these difficulties on our own and we want Him to help us. When we are in God’s “waiting room”, that is waiting for His next move for us, there are some things to remember. First and foremost is Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Even if the situation resolves itself in such a way that we didn’t desire, remember it was God’s will and there IS a reason for it. Isaiah 55: 8-9, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” What this means is that we might not understand the “why” at that moment, or maybe even in the years to come, but in the end God will use the outcome for our good “and” for His glory down the road. Next, trust God’s timing, as it will be perfect. God is omnipresent, meaning He already knew the "outcome" before you even knew of the difficulty! So, TRUST in the wait, no matter how long it takes for the answer to appear. Lastly, remember that you are NOT in the waiting room all alone. God is always with you, God is always for you and God is always good. Waiting is never easy. Struggles are never easy. Waiting for an “answer” during a struggle is a double whammy. Are you patient in your struggles or are you running around trying to fix everything all by yourself? If you’re doing the former, stop it. Lift up your concerns to the Lord, pray for His guidance in resolving the situation, and then “wait”. Just wait. Watch for His “nudgings” as He begins working on your behalf, but don’t try to “force” the issue yourself. Remember, this journey isn't about knowing all the answers and then trusting God, but rather it's having faith in God FIRST and then He'll reveal His goodness and plan for you.
2 Comments
Jay
4/1/2018 04:50:39 am
I really needed to read this today . Thanks for sharing..
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Nathan Cowen
4/1/2018 01:29:28 pm
You bet Jay. Each and every day I pray that the words, messages, and songs I share on here reach whoever God wants them to reach that day. Happy Easter brother and thanks for the comment! ♥?♥
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