Reason #145
"But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake." - 2 Peter 3:8-9
I've admitted it before and I'll admit it again, I hate waiting. I am so impatient. And as I wait and anticipate, I spend my time asking questions. "What if this? What if that?" And then next thing I know I've come up with a million different scenarios of what could happen during the wait, and I'm even more confused than before. I'm a thinker, an analyzer, and I study every move that's made. I try to find a strategy behind every action. Because if I think I know what will happen, if I think I know the outcome, I believe the wait will be easier. I can be more patient if I know what I'm waiting on. But a lot of the time I find myself hurrying up just to wait some more.
God has shown me time and time again that His timing is always best. I've seen that our clocks run differently, our timelines aren't the same. And I've come to realize that His timing is actually in my favor because I can't see it all. I don't know the strategy behind every action, and my analytical skills have failed me a time or two.
Over the past 24 years I've been known to take matters into my own hands, literally and figuratively speaking. Make things happen. Speed it up a little. Because I know what I want, and I usually think I know what I need. Now, what I need and what I want my be two totally different things, but that hasn't always stopped me.
My mom and I spend a lot of time reminsicing at how God has worked and moved in my life over the past 8 months. Really, in the grand scheme of things, 8 months isn't very long. However, when you walk through months of sadness and darkness, it seems like years. And I did a lot of waiting during that time. And I thought it would never end. I had been praying and pleading and it just seemed like my prayers were taking forever to be answered. Things were moving slowly. But when I look back, I see how swiftly the Lord was moving. In fact, my mom has made the statement over and over again that God rushed to my side. He didn't casually stroll over. He didn't take His sweet time making His way to me. No, He ran! And every promise that He had made, He kept. He rushed to meet my every need, to provide, to protect, to shelter, to bring truth, to love, to comfort, to restore, to bless, to strengthen, to defend and to rescue me. And I see that it was all for my sake. It wasn't always as immediate as I wanted, but the timing was divine and it was perfect.
And so I'm sure this is for my sake, too. Because doesn't every good wait seem to be incredibly slow? I'm thankful for retrospect, for hindsight. I'm thankful to be able to look back and see that God really is swift in keeping His promises. Because you wake up one morning and you realize how long it has been. You realize how quickly time has flown. You spent so long wishing He'd hurry up, wishing He'd move faster. But He is a God who has strategy behind His every move. A purpose for every action. And He knows the answers to all the "what if's" because He's already worked them out before they even come to mind.
So I wait because there really are a million different ways it could go. And I look forward to being able to look back and see how swiftly He moved, how quickly He acted, how He kept fulfilling His promises, and I really am excited to see which way He chooses. Because I bet it will be the one I least expected. The best way. It always is.
#145 - Because He always does what's best for my sake.
"Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised." - Hebrews 10:36
I've admitted it before and I'll admit it again, I hate waiting. I am so impatient. And as I wait and anticipate, I spend my time asking questions. "What if this? What if that?" And then next thing I know I've come up with a million different scenarios of what could happen during the wait, and I'm even more confused than before. I'm a thinker, an analyzer, and I study every move that's made. I try to find a strategy behind every action. Because if I think I know what will happen, if I think I know the outcome, I believe the wait will be easier. I can be more patient if I know what I'm waiting on. But a lot of the time I find myself hurrying up just to wait some more.
God has shown me time and time again that His timing is always best. I've seen that our clocks run differently, our timelines aren't the same. And I've come to realize that His timing is actually in my favor because I can't see it all. I don't know the strategy behind every action, and my analytical skills have failed me a time or two.
Over the past 24 years I've been known to take matters into my own hands, literally and figuratively speaking. Make things happen. Speed it up a little. Because I know what I want, and I usually think I know what I need. Now, what I need and what I want my be two totally different things, but that hasn't always stopped me.
My mom and I spend a lot of time reminsicing at how God has worked and moved in my life over the past 8 months. Really, in the grand scheme of things, 8 months isn't very long. However, when you walk through months of sadness and darkness, it seems like years. And I did a lot of waiting during that time. And I thought it would never end. I had been praying and pleading and it just seemed like my prayers were taking forever to be answered. Things were moving slowly. But when I look back, I see how swiftly the Lord was moving. In fact, my mom has made the statement over and over again that God rushed to my side. He didn't casually stroll over. He didn't take His sweet time making His way to me. No, He ran! And every promise that He had made, He kept. He rushed to meet my every need, to provide, to protect, to shelter, to bring truth, to love, to comfort, to restore, to bless, to strengthen, to defend and to rescue me. And I see that it was all for my sake. It wasn't always as immediate as I wanted, but the timing was divine and it was perfect.
And so I'm sure this is for my sake, too. Because doesn't every good wait seem to be incredibly slow? I'm thankful for retrospect, for hindsight. I'm thankful to be able to look back and see that God really is swift in keeping His promises. Because you wake up one morning and you realize how long it has been. You realize how quickly time has flown. You spent so long wishing He'd hurry up, wishing He'd move faster. But He is a God who has strategy behind His every move. A purpose for every action. And He knows the answers to all the "what if's" because He's already worked them out before they even come to mind.
So I wait because there really are a million different ways it could go. And I look forward to being able to look back and see how swiftly He moved, how quickly He acted, how He kept fulfilling His promises, and I really am excited to see which way He chooses. Because I bet it will be the one I least expected. The best way. It always is.
#145 - Because He always does what's best for my sake.
"Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised." - Hebrews 10:36