The Next Right Thing A Devotional By Emily P. FreemanParaugs

Day 7

Wait with Hope

Psalm 139:12

You’re holding an idea, a relationship, a loss, or a dream in the form of a seed, and you’re daring to believe it will grow. So you dig into the cool dirt and drop that seed into the darkness, you cover it up, and you wait. You pour the clear water of hope on the mound of dirt that covers that hidden seed. You peer at the ground, and every day that passes without a sprout, doubt begins to grow inside your heart.

Maybe you’ve done this whole thing wrong. Maybe you didn’t bury it deep enough, water it enough, give it enough room to grow. Maybe you missed the seasonal window—you’re too late or too early or too much or not enough. Maybe you’ve planted the wrong seed. Maybe you shouldn’t have planted a seed at all.

In the waiting, it’s easy to question and normal to doubt. But there is another reality at work. It starts with how God moves in the world. If God had made the world straight up and down, we would have no seasons or change, just the sun shining straight at the equator all year ’round. Instead, he chose to tilt it on its axis. The tilt made way for long light as well as long darkness. 

God declares his glory in the light, but first he forms new life in the dark, bringing it to the surface in his own time and in his own way. God is with us in the light of day and in the darkest night. The psalmist wrote, “Even the darkness is not dark to You, and the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You.”

Our next right thing will often be to wait. Give time to allow the clutter to clear. Create space for your soul to breathe. Make room for your desire to show up at the table. Begin to name the unnamed things. Wait. Listen. Repeat.

Our choices shape our lives, and they shape us. But we remain in God’s hand no matter what. Let’s remember that though we may have to wait and see, we never have to wait to be. 

Father, you are not a God who offers clear steps. But you always give a hopeful vision. And you always promise presence. “I will go with you wherever you go. Do not be afraid.” We are grateful.

For more on how you can make space for your soul to breathe so you discern your next right thing, visit emilypfreeman.com.