Freedom in Waiting

            I used to think waiting was torture. Don’t get me wrong; I consider myself a patient person overall, but as I mentioned before, I want to know what’s going to happen next—now.

            Unfortunately, I’ve discovered that God doesn’t work that way. Yes, sometimes He does answer prayers immediately, but oftentimes, He does not, for His ways are not our ways, and His thoughts are not 

our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8).

            Recently, I’ve been seeking wisdom on which way to step in my life, and the answers are not entirely clear. All I can do is wait, wait, and wait some more. But, I feel like I’ve been doing that for so long now, and so I fought the waiting. In my own strength I’ve searched high and low for answers, just a glimmer of a solid pathway with my name on it.

            However, I usually found a road block or felt so out of step with my Creator, so I had to fall to my knees and let Him start over. You know that recalculating phrase that a GPS repeats over and over again? Well, I know over my four years of college, God did that. I changed my major twice, but I finally found where God wanted me, and I realized that recalculating period where I had to wait wasn’t a waste of gas or time. I learned a lot from those times of waiting, but waiting was still hard—is still hard.

            That period of waiting has resurfaced in my life, but God is teaching me a lesson: waiting on God doesn’t lead to frustration or pain or uncertainty. Waiting on God is living in freedom because when has God ever failed? Never.

            God knows the plans He has for you (Jer. 29:11), which means you don’t have to know them. He promises to work everything out for good in your life (Romans 8:28), and when has He ever failed to come through on a promise?

            God tells us not to lean on our own understanding, and I understand why a little better. Not only is our understanding flawed, but it traps us and clouds our lives with worry and chaos. His understanding is so much better than ours. Think about it: He is omniscient and lives outside of time, which means He probably has a better grasp on the future and how to work my life out that I do, and living in that knowledge is freeing.

            I don’t have to have it all together because He does.

            I don’t need all the wisdom of the world because He is the author of wisdom.

I don’t have to have life figured out because He does.  

            Today, let go of your worries. Cut the strings of control you may have on your life and free fall into the arms of Grace.

I promise that freedom is found in resting in Him.

Living Life Together,

Rebecca Thomas