Reason #834
Behavior in the past is often indicative of the future. Sure, there are the exceptions – both good and bad, but for the most part, this is true. And when you find someone with perfect consistency, you can be sure that you know more of what to expect than you would with an imperfect person. I forget this truth more often than not. It’s especially fleeting when I am faced with challenges. And so last night, I started a new prayer journal. I used to journal quite often, and I thought back to those times and realized how effective they were. I thought about how helpful and comforting it was to pour my heart out through a pen on a page. And I thought about how, during those seasons, God always moved in my life in really big ways.
I wrote for 8 pages but I could have filled the whole notebook. I thought to myself, “Why haven’t you been doing this?” I’m imperfectly consistent. And I asked the Lord my questions. I asked for help, for answers, for guidance. I asked for truth because it’s the truth that sets us free. The truth frees us from lies, from disappointment, and from the weight of the world. And after I finished, I turned out the lights, and as I willed myself to go to sleep, my phone alert loudly sounded in the darkness of my bedroom. I reached over, opened the message that I had just received, and my heart was overwhelmed as the words I needed to hear were right there on that bright little screen.
I met my friend Leslee when I was in college. She and I got to lead a bible study together, and through that I met my other dear friend, Emily. We were a small group, but those girls impacted my life. Leslee moved shortly after graduating, and I have only seen her once since then. She, of all people, understands trusting God through life’s challenges. Last year her beautiful baby girl, Lexi, was born with a heart condition that has required them to practice tremendous faith. God has been faithful to answer their prayers and work miracles in Lexi’s life. Leslee has kept up with my blog since I started it, and she has been such a great supporter. Last night, she read my blog and started praying for me. Of course, I would have never know had she not told me, and I was thankful that God was already answering 2 of my requests through her. She said, “God knows what you need, even if none of the rest of us do. Hang in there…You know as well as anyone that wonderful things are usually just around the corner.”
Hang in there. Sometimes that’s just what we need to hear. Hang in there. Don’t give up. Don’t discount where you are or what God has in store. He knows what we need even better than we do… and even when we don’t. And she was right, wonderful things are usually just around the corner. God’s faithfulness in the past indicates that God will be faithful in the future. That’s who He is…. always… faithful. Not just sometimes or every now and then or when we get it right. God’s faithfulness gives us a reason, and even the ability, to hang in there. And so today, if you feel like me, listen to Leslee’s advice and hang in there. That’s what I’m going to do because I know, and have seen time and time again, that God always proves faithful.
#834 - Because He continues to prove faithful.
"So the Lord must wait for you to come to him so he can show you his love and compassion. For the Lord is a faithful God. Blessed are those who wait for his help." - Isaiah 30:18