Purpose In The Waiting by Kimberly Burnette

Did you know that the author of “One More Step," Rachel Wojo, also writes Bible Reading plans? I find these very helpful because each one month plan has a theme and all passages correlate to the theme. Rachel’s theme for August 2018 is Purposeful Pause. My devotion is based on two passages from that reading plan and the reflections I had on these passages:

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His Word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning ~ Psalm 130:15

Pausing and waiting— two of the hardest words in the English language for me.

I’ve had conversations with friends and mentors about what we call “being on hold.” When we sit on hold on a telephone ten seconds can feel like a minute, and one minute feels like five. It is very uncomfortable. We anticipate what we’re going to say and how things will go. We are eagerly waiting for answers, for a solution. Sometimes we wait for something good to finally come through.

For through the spirit by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. ~ Galatians 5:5

It is so hard to wait on God. How many times have you been waiting with plans in tow, and mind made up about how and when things should happen?

I’ve done this so many times:
    For my loved one with mental illness to get stable
    For my alcoholic husband to get well
    For my mind to heal from PTSD
    For my mental health ministry to get off the ground
    For my chronic illnesses to stabilize or heal

Sometimes what we wait for doesn’t look like what we thought it would. People don’t always have physical healing this side of heaven. And the best laid plans can fall apart. But then, sometimes, I have been absolutely amazed at what God has done!

While we may not get everything we are waiting on, we get ultimately get God’s best. When I was young, I was shy and timid. I would freeze up around more than one or two people. I had trouble even with phone calls. God freed me from that. I didn’t ask for what I didn’t think was possible. But today, I am assertive. I have taught classes, talked in front of groups, and stood up, by God’s grace.  I have also been released from all symptoms of PTSD. It took a long time, but it happened.

My loved one with mental illness is living far beyond his initial prognosis. It looked bad for a very long time, but with God's timing it eventually turned around. My mental health ministry has been going strong for nearly seven years, but it took ten years to get it off the ground.

In the case of my alcoholic husband, he never saw healing on this side of heaven. He passed away eleven years ago, but I know he knew Christ.

God always keeps His promises. And while we wait, it make me think of a tree in winter. Stripped bare of it’s fruit and foliage, waiting for the promise of spring. Winter is when it’s roots strengthen, so it can stand against the forces of nature. Much in the same way, when we wait on God, I believe He is strengthening our roots so we too can stand strong. What do you think?

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