Waiting

We are all waiting for something.



A husband/marriage.



A child.



A job.



The salvation of a loved one.



Healing.



Restoration.



Freedom from debt.



The list goes on. I just got back from my church's women's retreat a couple of hours ago. What an amazing time of coming together with women of all ages and stages in the Body and worshipping together and studying Truth together. Beautiful. The name was "Power of a Word". The main speaker talked about how words affect us, the enemy's words, the words of Truth, our own words and the like. Simply amazing. I learned a lot.



But that is not what I wanted to blog about today sweet friends. There were 2 periods of breakout sessions with like 8 options. Each option had one word of what it was about. There was a Simplify one, a Satisfaction one, a Reflect one, etc. I went to the two called Waiting and Season. Women from our church were the speakers. The one called Waiting is the one that really struck me. The speaker was actually the Women's Associate for the singles ministry at my church, so I've recently been getting to know her as she is who I report to, seek guidance from, etc. in my leadership position. She is an amazing woman of Christ and I am so excited to get to know her more.



Anyways, what a word (no pun intended) she brought! And I would like to share some of what I gleamed from her talk with you.

One thing is that a better word for waiting (which can sometimes have a less than positive connotation in some realms) is divine delay. That really puts it in perspective for me. It is from Him, for Him and its purpose is to draw me into a more intimate relationship with my precious Creator. The delay points to His deity and is a beautiful invitation to walk more closely and deeply with Him. It is an invitation we can choose to accept or ignore.

It isn't easy at all but it really isn't an option. But its what we do with that option that truly makes the difference. This isn't the first thing we have waited for and it certainly won't be the last. So make use of this time because really, the life God has for you is now and to quote a beautiful hymn - "All I have needed thy hand has provided..." I don't need more. I just need to be still, allow Him to work in His wonderful ways right now and be willing to do what and go to where He calls me. This delay can only serve to strengthen our faith and what an amazing thing that is - truly a gift in our lives. The passage she used to illustrate these points in John 11:1-45 where Lazarus has died and Mary and Martha are grieved over Jesus' seemingly inactive posture towards the whole situation. But really He was about to do the pinacle of all miracles during His time on Earth and one of the last. One of the best things she said about the wait was this: If we can finally get to the place in which we trust God's timing, we will also get to the place in which we trust His methods. Another amazing quote in my notes is this: Faith is believing in advance that which only makes sense in reverse.

So cool. And my perspective on this matter is this: we have so many things we worry about in this life, why add one more thing to our pile of fruitless worrying? He is moving, has promised us He has moving and has been faithful thus far to show us that. So let us bow down at His feet, lay our fretting about these things we way for in His hands, and watch Him move and work and draw us even closer to His heart. That is truly what we seek to be anyways, right? Men and women after His own heart.

Lastly, I leave you with a quote from a book she used called The Beautiful Ache by Leigh McLeroy, which is next on my never ending reading list.

Because of His deep love for His children, He allowed them to wait in order that they might know Him in the fullnes of His character, the magnificence of His power and the depth of His love.