The Hard Long Way

I don’t naturally thank God for difficult long journeys.

But most worthwhile things require that we travel the hard long way in order to reach the goal.

• Waiting for a spouse.
• Developing a skill.
• Dreaming of the family you want to build.
• Healing from chronic pain.
• Walking in your calling.
• Recovering from a deep heart wound.

My life is FULL of hard long journeys. I vividly remember a prolonged season of waiting as my husband Jared and I prayed for babies. We had unexplained complications, got pregnant four times, had two losses, and now have two boys on earth that we get to raise.

I’m still on the hard long way in so many areas.
Some occur because I’m slow to learn lessons.
Others because of external circumstances when my timelines don’t align with God’s, the fallen state of our world, or simply the trek is intended to take a while. We get to engage in lifelong journeys of following Christ, and for most of us, that’s not a brief adventure.

Where you may want to expedite progress, find shortcuts, and skip ahead to your favorite finish lines, God uses the hard long path for your good. This extended way often provides for things you need.

• Character required to walk in your call.
• Timing for your baby’s birth in line with the goodness God plans for their lives.
• Greater awareness to take your best next step.
• Preparation for the right relationships.
• Trust in God no matter what comes.
• Incremental gains that compound into massive transformation.

I’m here to remind you that God isn’t slow.

Second Peter 3:9 begins “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise…” God uses even the longest most difficult journeys for your good, and He is available to you every step of the way.

In the New King James Version, the phrase “the Lord is not slow” is translated “the Lord is not slack.”

God is not slacking off in His care for you.

If you find yourself on a painfully prolonged journey, seize this opportunity to remember His faithfulness and patience toward you. Let it prompt uncommon gratitude and thank Him for His goodness in this hard long way.

God, thank You for Your goodness in the hard long way.

It's pretty common to thank God for what we have. But when is the last time you thanked God for what you don't have? We're doing that tomorrow and you won't want to miss it.