Word of God Speak

I mentioned not too long ago that I have recently begun the process of applying for teaching jobs. Coming from running my own business for the past 4 years, I had already expected it to take some time before I found anything. I'm back in that place....the place of waiting! You all know the place! I've been there plenty of times myself.....

Finally graduate from college!
Ready to join the world!
Apply for jobs.
Pray.....wait...pray....wait...repeat for 3 months

Settle into first job!
Meet with incredible challenges and adversity.
Search for new jobs.
Pray....wait.....pray.....wait...repeat for 2 years

Ready to find someone to share my life with!
Date.....date some more.....and some more.
Finally hand over decision to the Lord!
Pray.....wait.....pray...wait...repeat for 5 years.

Come face to face with the man I know I will marry!!
Amazed at God's design for me and for our lives!
Let God work in us to prepare us for each other.
Pray......wait...pray.....wait....repeat for 1 year.

Begin to grow our family!
Discover pregnancy is high risk.
Fear of losing baby girl, finances tight, outcome unknown.
Pray.....wait.....pray....wait....repeat for 9 months.

Discover we are in this for the long haul!
Realize how challenging life can be, even together!
Kids exhausting, money tight, jobs not predictable....the list goes on.
Pray...wait....pray...wait....repeat FOREVER!!

Just a little illustration of this thing called waiting!! I thought you might like that! I'm sure you all have your own examples you could fill in the blanks with. Whatever the situation may be, I'm sure you have learned the same thing I have. When we choose to live in line with God's will for our lives, things don't just appear out of thin air and land in our laps. There is a process involved in every decision that we make for our lives. We have to CHOOSE to desire God's will for us. We have to CHOOSE to pray for His guidance and direction. We have to CHOOSE to let the Holy Spirit help us discern the best choices to make. We have to CHOOSE to wait patiently for that answer to come. Most importantly, we have to CHOOSE to be still and quiet, listening for Him to speak to us. Sometimes that means we have to continue to wait for the answer for years and years, maybe the rest of our lives. However, the best part of all that waiting is that in the end we get to experience the richest blessings of our lives! I've found it to be true that the longer I have had to wait, the more wonderful the blessing! More importantly, I never forget the hand that provided that blessing to me in the first place!

My pastor once spoke about this and stated that, "waiting is one of the greatest exercises of faith we will ever experience." See, waiting isn't just hanging out until God gives us what we want. If we really wanted something, there are ways we could go and get it for ourselves. What we are waiting on is HIS plan, HIS providing, HIS gifts for us. Choosing to stop, pray, and let Him direct us, is a demonstration of how much faith we have in Him. I don't know about you, but I can speak for myself when I say that faith comes from experience. From believing in, trusting in, and following a God who cares for my every need and desire. As an old Michael Card song states, "To hear with my heart, to see with my soul, to be guided by a hand I can not hold. To trust in a way that I can not see. That's what faith must be!" Now I truly understand why that song is one of my mother's favorites. She lives this kind of faith filled life....I only hope I can too!

The song from my playlist today is called "Word of God Speak". It speaks to my heart so much about the importance of being still, quiet, and letting the word of the Lord fill in the silence. For those of you who know me, being quiet is a very difficult task in itself!!! As you face those times of waiting in the months to come, just remind yourself that for every minute, hour, and day that passes, your faith is growing that much more!!