The Waiting

    I am SO excited for one of my favorite people on the planet to share with y'all today! My lovely beautiful wonderful BIG! One of the greatest bonds possible bonds that can form a sorority is the relationship between a big and little sis. I am so so honored to have Sarah as such a great influence in my life. She is one of the most gentle and kind spirits I've ever met and has so much wisdom that Jesus has shared with her! Today she's talking about waiting (I think we can ALL relate to this one!). God tells us SO many times in the bible- wait. He tells us to wait on him, to be patient, and to trust. But it's hard. It's hard when you don't know exactly what you're waiting for, or how long you're waiting. Sometimes- most of the time for me- my mind races to "What if God doesn't come through for me? What if what I'm waiting for doesn't end up being as good as I planned?" Ladies, Satan USES these against us. He gets in our heads telling us God's plans will never fulfill us like ours will. These are LIES. Here below, Sarah shares truth with us:

"I don’t like waiting. I’ll be the first to tell you that I’m not very good at being patient. I know it’s not my strong point. The Lord has a sense of humor – he loves to make me wait for the important things in my life. It seems like I am constantly praying for Him to work in different areas of my life, I love control and plans, and I’m not good at surrendering, so it’s hard. I’m on edge, constantly wondering when I will finally get my answer. But, somewhere inside, reluctantly, I know that the Lord’s timing is more perfect than I can ever imagine. He knows all, I only know my small piece of the puzzle.

As I was praying through some things the other day, I turned to Exodus 14:14, because I saw a sweet friend had tweeted the verse and I liked it. As I read the chapter, the Lord spoke directly to my heart. See, the verse that had brought me there said: “The Lord will fight for you, you only need to be still.” In that, I realized that as I wait, the Lord is not sitting around twirling his thumbs, saying, “Eh, now sounds like just about as good a time as any to let Sarah have her answer.” He is fighting for me. He is fighting for you. Right now – and the victory is already ours in Christ. Rest in this.

See, the story involves a battle between Pharaoh and the Egyptians and Moses and the Israelites. The Lord comes to Moses with a plan to help the Israelites escape from Pharaoh’s control. It seems very complicated, but the Lord reassures Moses.

Right away, things look like they aren’t going according to “the plan” for the Israelites. How often does this happen to us? The doors don’t open that we think are going to, we don’t have our answers when we think we will, the list goes on. I don’t know about y’all, but it is SO easy for me to start complaining when this happens.  That’s exactly what the Israelites do in this situation, saying, “What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!” We think we know what is better, don’t we? We start complaining, wondering, and we are terrified just like the Egyptians. This is me ALL THE TIME. Crazy humbling.

I love Moses’ response to the Israelites complaints: “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Lord will fight for you, you only need to be still.” I love that just when we think it’s over and we can’t handle the long road in front of us any more, the Lord gives us a picture of the vision and equips us to press on. He reminds Moses that “The Egyptians (Pharaoh’s followers) will know that I am the Lord when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen.” See, the Lord handled this situation not in a manner that would just be like, “Okay, problem solved, let’s move on!” Instead, He did it in a way that perfectly brought glory to Himself and drew others to His Kingdom. We’re talking parting the sea here. He made dry land appear for the Israelites to walk through in the middle of the ocean! This was his plan all along. He told it to Moses from the beginning, and He was true to what He said He would do.

The final verse of the chapter is what gripped my heart though. “And when the Israelites saw the great power the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in Him.” This is what it’s all about, y’all. It is about the Lord using our battles, fighting them for us, and making it all happen in a way that adds to His Kingdom. We each have our own timelines, lists, and dreams. I know. I have them too. The Lord is saying to each of us though, “I am writing your story.” I believe He is writing a story for each of us, where He is working out every little detail. It is so easy to complain and get anxious when it all doesn’t go according to plan. Trust me, I’ve done more than my fair share of that. It’s humbling to realize that the only thing that truly matters is that others would fear the Lord and put their trust in Him. That’s the purpose of each of our stories. See, I’m learning that when the Lord writes our stories, it’s probably not going to be in the way we imagined. However, it will be in a way that makes much of him, draws others to know Him, and also satisfies the desires of our hearts in ways that will enable us to say, “Look what God did!” Might it be along the same lines of what we’ve dreamed of? Sure. Might it be completely different? Maybe. But I promise – The Lord of the Universe is writing your story, right now, if you’ll let Him.  May our lives be a series of stories where the Lord’s hand is evident. Whatever you are waiting on today, take heart, be patient, (I know it’s not easy), and remember that the Lord is writing your story in a way that will make much of Him. It is worth the waiting." -Sarah, 21