Grief Bites: Finding Treasure In Hardshipsনমুনা

Wait on The Lord. Be still and know that He is God.

Waiting is difficult. Especially when we feel time is of the essence.

The Lord allowed me to go through intense trials over a very long period of time. Towards the end, it got harder and harder to wait on the Lord. It became difficult to be still. And I'll be honest, it became difficult to zip my lips and not try to control the situation.

After all, I didn't want to be still...I wanted God to quickly answer my prayer.

You may be going through a challenging time: an illness that you are begging God to heal, a spouse or child's rebellion, job issues, marriage or family issues, financial issues, a great need you are praying for a breakthrough for, or any other issue that is heavy on your heart.

Waiting is difficult! And most of us are not good at being patient.

It's too easy to believe that we know best...so we are tempted to get impatient and take matters into our own hands or to push an issue.
Sometimes, we even attempt to barter with God..."Lord if you will only _______, then I'll ______" or we will promise to ______ or to never do ______ ever again if God would just allow us to twist His arm so He will grant us a favorable reply.

The problem is...God is never to be submissive to us. We are to be submissive to Him and His Will.

We all love comfort and we've been taught that comfort is the goal.

After years of intense trials, I was at my breaking point. I began to resent the Lord. I was going through so much pain and pressure...but it was EXACTLY the place God needed me to be. I had to be allowed by God to be in a place of absolute brokenness so God could prune my heart. After an incredibly painful pruning, God was then able to grow much more fruit in my life...but only after I was tested faithful enough to wait on Him and fully trust Him.

We must ask ourselves: do we truly want quick easy answers...or do we want God's perfect will for our lives? If we could see the big picture, we'd want the latter.

God could have instantly answered my prayers but I am so grateful He didn't. It was not easy to be still or wait...but I Iearned more through that valley than any other time in my walk with God.

Today, make the decision to lay your requests in God's fully capable hands. Choose to completely take your hands off of the situation and choose to trust and obey Him wholeheartedly.

Hope, faith, obedience, and trust are the qualities to focus on as you wait for the Lord.
As we truly understand that God is all powerful, fully capable, sovereign, and more concerned than we could ever be about the situations and trials we go through, we begin to grow our faith and relationship with the Lord. Allow Him to prune you and develop the fruit He knows you need in your life during your difficult times of waiting.

He's got this!