Waiting Is Not Easy

Today I was reading in my book "He Speaks to Me" by Priscilla Shirer. She was talking about how we prepare ourselves to hear from God. One of the ways in which we can do this is by waiting for Him to speak or to move. Often times we are too busy trying to make things happen on our own that we get into the habit of relying on ourselves but if we will abandon that and get into the habit of waiting for God then we can see amazing things happen in our lives. When I read all of the things that she was saying about waiting and the fact that waiting was not an easy task to be called to I was so excited! Because I felt validated. In the past year I have been telling people that I was in a waiting period. I had exhausted myself and all of my efforts trying to get a job and trying to figure out where to live and how to pay bills I owe and finally I just came to the conclusion that I was not going to be able to do any of these things. I prayed and asked the Lord to help me and show me what to do. The result has been a year and half of waiting. It definitely has not been easy or fun but I believe it has been the right thing to do and then when I read the portion of Priscilla's book that spoke about waiting I felt that it was confirmed for me that waiting was the right thing to do during this last year even til now. Priscilla's book is amazing because so many times during this book I have felt that she was "reading my mail." She just hit the nail on the head so many times and perfectly described my situation to me. I feel like through her book several situations that I have been through have been explained or further illuminated to me. But given that the last year and a half of my life has been a waiting period the waiting portion really stuck out to me and made me feel better. I think that the Lord is reminding me and telling me to hold on and persevere through the difficult times of not knowing and not being able to answer questions like what am I going to do and where am I going to live and how will I pay these bills I owe and I don't want to have to be 30 and living with either or both of my parents and many other questions. This past weekend I was reminded by my Cousin Jean that even though I'm on the backburner right now there is something really great ahead. She even reminded me again to write down the things that I'm experiencing because when the clouds clear the blessing will be so great it will be hard to remember the journey. I heard a message just a few weeks ago that also brought this point home to me. Pastor Steven Furtick of Elevation Church in Charlotte was speaking about the journey of Abraham's servant to get a wife for Isaac. The servant had a journey that lasted at least 30 days and was a long, treacherous, and difficult road to get to where Abraham wanted him to go to get a wife for Isaac. But the Scripture does not mention his journey at all. It mentions that he made the trip and the Lord blessed him to find the woman he was searching for for Isaac. I was greatly encouraged because the last 4 years (from June of 2007 to now) have been extremely difficult and hard to bear at times. I take comfort in knowing that there is a blessing so great in my future that it would make me forget these past four years! That is amazing and something that only God could do! I look forward to seeing it too! I know it will happen precisely when God means for it to happen and not a minute before or after, so I have resolved just to wait until that time. I'm really thankful and grateful that the Lord has graciously provided answers to long burning questions and that He is leading me, guiding me, and directing me.