You’ve wanted that promotion for years and the day has finally come. It came with a big raise and you’ve finally arrived in life. You go home and tell your spouse. You call your parents. You go out to a fancy dinner with some close friends and celebrate.
A couple days pass and you notice that life doesn’t really seem so different than before. You always imagined that you’d smile more and laugh more, that each day would seem more important once you finally found yourself in the place you’d always pined for. And yet, this day seems eerily similar to the ones before you reached your goal.
Most of us live for the future, imagining that life will be so much better there. Maybe for you, the goal is walking into the purpose that God has for you. You’ve received a word and you know your calling- the thing that you were born to do.
If you've reached a big goal that you'd waited for, you probably know that the joy that we get from finally obtaining it is so fleeting, isn’t it? Then, within a couple of weeks or months, we’ve found a new goal that we so desperately desire. We don't always feel God more in the moments after our hopes and dreams have come into fruition than in any other moment.
Where we do find God, is in the waiting.
It's through the waiting that...
We find God in the courage.
We do everything on our end to reach that goal and through the struggle and sacrifice, there will be days when we wonder if all our effort will ever matter at all. We wonder if we can brave one more rejection or risk spending one more day working on something that may never come to pass.
We find Him in the courage He gives us to move forward despite the fear, to take one more step and once we’ve taken that, He gives us the courage to take one more.
We find God in the hope.
We wake up every morning thinking about the purpose that we are sure God has placed in our hearts. Most days, we’re convinced that He wouldn’t have given us such a strong desire if He wasn’t going to make it happen. After years of waiting, there are days or months that we find ourselves wondering if we somehow misinterpreted God’s signs. That maybe it wasn’t His vision for our life but just our own whims.
We find Him in the hope that He renews when we're facing doubts. The hope that tells us He is faithful to His promises over our lives, even when it takes longer than we’d like. It will still come.
We find God in the peace.
When things don’t seem to be moving in the right direction and we’re wondering if somehow we managed to get off track. Maybe we’re lacking support or the finances that we need to keep moving forward.
We find Him in the peace He gives us when we slow down and seek Him, when we just breathe in His presence.
We find God in the love.
When we’re not sure which step to take next. We pray and seek His will and although we may not receive it right away, He brings us direction and a greater certainty of what to do next. When we’re questioning why His plan unfolds differently than the way we would do it, He brings revelation that gives us wisdom and insight. We find Him in that loving guidance that comes in bits and pieces, but it does come.
We find God in the small wins.
God gives us those small wins to instill confidence within us in preparation for the big stuff. When we celebrate every small win, we honor God and we can feel that same joy that we experience when we finally reach our ultimate goal. We can find and celebrate the goodness of God and give Him thanks in all those small wins.
God is in the equipping.
It’s in the waiting that God equips us for our purpose. A person cannot run a marathon as soon as she knows that is her purpose. She must train for endurance, gain wisdom in caring for her body, know how to draw from her source of strength, and find contentment when the race is hard. God teaches and instructs us in the waiting so we’re ready to run when the time comes.
Instead of thinking that life will be better when you get what you want, believe that life is great now because you are experiencing God while you wait for what you want.
Want the Wait.
What's the best thing you've experienced in The Wait? I want to hear about it in the comments! Can't wait to hear from you!
~Staci
Don't miss next week when I talk about how to believe that You Are Enough, coming up next at Own Your Victory!
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