Seeing God In The Waiting

Hummingbirds. I enjoy watching the frenzy of these busy little birds as they stop by for a quick visit just outside our dining room window. Photography is fun for me and my camera is usually not too far away--so this opportunity arose. 

I had been trying to capture one at my feeder--but wow--they are fast! Except for this one. She just sat there. No cares-no worries-just enjoying the view of my flower garden sitting on my primitive heart shaped weather vane. At that season of my life I was in a time of waiting. Waiting on God in a set of what seemed to be impossible circumstances that rocked my world. And click-this photo. And click-a snapshot from God Himself to this war torn woman who was trapped in a frenzy of worry, despair and woundedness. God showed me something that day. If this hurried hummingbird can sit on a little heart and drink in the beauty--so could I. I desperately needed soul rest and God used this feathered friend to give me a picture of how to get through a time of waiting on God. He taught me to slow down and drink in His presence and see the beauty that is unfolding. He taught me how to rest on the very heart of God for answers.

I love it when God connects His precious Word to the hot pavement of real life. Our Wednesday night Bible study is going through the book of 1 Peter and it is mind blowing to say the least. His words surround me like a warm blanket and I find that once again I am assured beyond a shadow of a doubt that I am born into Living Hope. (1 Peter 1:3)...and Living Hope isn't leaving me. That is a reality to be experienced not just simply a good idea. He is REAL and He wants you to really know that Living Hope never leaves.

Just this weekend I was among 300 of the most beautiful sisters at a Current 4 Women event in a little town next to ours. We opened the book of 1 Peter and dove into the most wonderful reality of Living Hope in the "now" of life. 

Are you finding that you are in a season of waiting--that you're in a dry dessert and there is no water in sight? Does it seems like God is pressing the pause button on your future or you are falling apart because of a situation you are facing and your prayers hit the ceiling? There is LIVING HOPE for the here and now. I want to share 3 things that I learned in the last 48 hours that spoke TRUTH into the time of waiting.

1. Remember God has never failed.

It's our own lack of trust in our Heavenly Father that leaves us to sit and spin. God is on His throne.God has never failed. Not once. Ever. Throughout the entire Bible God proves Himself to be faithful and Victorious in every situation. His promises have never been broken and each one He has kept throughout all time and history. He is FOR you--not against you. He is wanting to give you so much more than fixing the mess and moving on! It's time to make the great exchange of unbelief for believing that He truly works all thing out for our ultimate good. He wants to create in you a heart of worship and a mind that is clear in the midst of chaos. He wants you to learn to trust Him and to surrender the outcome. He wants you to see more of Him and less of your situation. His thoughts and desires for your life are so much higher than you can imagine. What is holding you back from believing that He has got this thing in control?

2. Remember your time of waiting is a time of growing.

His Word is sure-His timing is perfect--and He wants to do more with your time of waiting than you can even imagine. Dead hope is trying to do this thing called life on your own. By fixing your eyes on the AUTHOR, PERFECTER and FINISHER of your faith He shows you the big picture because HE wrote it. God is using this mess right now to produce in you...

~AUTHENTIC FAITH~

The kind of faith that roots  into 

who you are as a daughter of the

Most High King.

This trial and suffering you are walking through is forming a genuine faith one day at a time. He is in the process of building you a new identity in Christ. He is giving you an opportunity to CHOOSE Living Hope rather than surrendering to the spin cycle the moment you are faced with the pain of your circumstances.

3. Remember God wants a heart that listens to Him alone.


I get really irritated sometimes when I see "coffee cup" promises and the inauthentic "health and wealth" versions of Christianity. You know the ones! It's a little trite phrase that is supposed to give me a vision that everything is going to be rainbows, sunshine and puppy dogs. Maybe you have been on the receiving end of a very well intentioned soul who slaps a promise on your wound which only deepens the pain. When trial hits home it is so easy to slap on a promise that was never intended to be our answer. We take in so much of the worlds theology when suffering strikes and our time of waiting seems endless. Most of the New Testament was written to people who were under intense suffering and unimaginable circumstances. The authors of the Gospels knew that joy and hope didn't come from a change of circumstances. Joy and Hope come being rooted in a PERSON. His name is Jesus. It isn't about perfect circumstances--it's about a heart that is being perfected in the circumstance by a Perfect God. 

Take time to listen. Listen closely. What is He wanting you to hear through all of this? Leave the empty the chatter of the world and the coffee cup mentality at the cross and take up His Word and begin to fix your eyes on what He is saying in your time of waiting. Listen closely because it is a quiet voice and you will find that His voice speaks joy, love, trust and hope. Your heart becomes steadfast as you wait for God to triumph in your circumstances. Let Jesus take hold of your heart and you will find that having more of God is more than sufficient through the trial. Take courage--your Creator is using this moment to fashion you into His perfect image. It is a painfully beautiful mess-But the outcome is priceless.

"He counts the number of the stars; 

He gives names to all of them.

Great is our Lord and abundant in strength; His understanding is infinite." 

Psalm 147:4-5