As I type these words, I am in waiting mode. (I feel like I write a lot about waiting…thanks for waiting through the waiting with me!) Waiting mode can be a dream on hold, an unanswered prayer, a desire unfulfilled. And if there’s anything I have learned through this waiting process it is this:
WAITING CAN TAKE A TOLL ON ME, SO I MUST TAKE STEPS TO GUARD MY WAITING HEART.
Let me explain.
Waiting can make us anxious. Waiting can plain stress us out. Waiting can cause us to panic, question our calling, grow impatient, and grow more and more irritable. Waiting can, if we let it, completely take a toll on us.
I woke up to my waiting angst/taking-a-toll-on-me-situation a couple of weeks ago. My husband could see the waiting fatigue in my eyes. He could read my emotions without asking what was wrong. I wasn’t lookin too good. Or feelin too good. The stress of waiting was threatening to really knock me down.
Have you been there lately?
I’m with you. :) What woke me up? I realized that waiting, although it’s really hard, and I would much rather KNOW God’s plans for me while I wait, is not worth letting my stress overtake me, so I’ve got to overtake it with God’s help. In my waiting, I had let my time with God grow short in my impatience. I had let waking up to meet with my Savior go because I was so fatigued emotionally. I had let myself give up on exercising, forgetting that moving my body completely de-stresses my soul. I had let myself fall into the trap of scrolling through my phone for endless information that might be helpful when all my soul really needed was to rest in Christ.
This morning, in all the mystery of meeting with my Savior, He reminded me to be gentle on myself and take care of myself in the waiting. He reminded me to guard my heart by getting alone with Him. He reminded me to guard my health by taking time to move my body. He reminded me to take care of me by finding ways to de-stress.
And suddenly, waiting doesn’t feel so bad. And suddenly I remember:
WAITING DOESN’T MEAN GOD ISN’T AT WORK.
WAITING DOESN’T MEAN GOD IS LATE, IN FACT, HIS TIMING IS JUST PERFECT.
WAITING MEANS GOD IS UP TO SOMETHING GOOD.
Hold on, dear one, in your waiting moments. Whatever dream that feels on hold, whatever desire that feels impossible, whatever confirmation you are waiting for…hold on to God in the waiting and take care of you by letting Him take care of you.
Thinking of you in your waiting. :)
“Cease striving and know that I am God.”
Psalm 46:10
Thank you for your honesty in sharing this, Sarah! I can so relate! It encourages me to know I’m not alone in my struggle with waiting moments :) Grateful that He sustains us while we wait, and He will respond to our heart’s desire. Praying and believing with you!💗
Catching up on my replies….thank you, Ashley, for your comment! And for your sweet prayers and believing in the waiting!
Thank you so much for writing this! I am also in a season of waiting right now, and at times it is very, very difficult. This is exactly what I needed to read this morning!!
Catching up on my replies…thank you, Theresa…so glad this post on waiting encouraged you.