God is present as we wait. As we wait for a pandemic to cease and a cure to be found, as we wait for Him to answer specific prayers, as we wait to be able to see friends, as we wait _______, you fill in the blank, what are you waiting on God to do in you life?

During my time of waiting for my transplant to be rescheduled, I experienced God’s love in an abundance of ways. During the postponement of my transplant, He allowed for my body to become physically stronger in preparation for the surgery and He allowed for me to be in a better place spiritually. As I drew closer to God, I saw Him curate in me a deeper sense of peace (Isaiah 26:3) and a longing for His presence. Because of this new found peace and longing, my faith and trust in Him grew in ways even I couldn’t have imagined.

God is the source of all abundance and as we draw near to Him, we experience this abundance more readily. (James 4:8a) He is life giving and He is the sustainer of all life. He is living, breathing and alive. I think as we wait we have a choice to make, we can either lean into God and focus on Him or we can choose to focus on what it is we are waiting on. He has called us to keep moving, to be alert, to be strong and courageous as we wait. It is through His Spirit we can be a conqueror as we hold fast to our faith and persevere while we are waiting.

During the waiting, God placed on my heart to read Joshua and in those passages God reminded me, and us, to be strong and courageous and that our strength comes from Him alone. He calls us to prepare (Joshua 1:2) and He promises that He will be with us (Joshua 1:5). When I think about preparing ourselves, I prepare by praying and sharing my heart with God, I reach out to other Christ followers for support, I lean deeper into God, relying on the Spirit instead of pulling away and hiding. And then I also put on the Armor of God each and everyday to fend off attacks from Satan. How are you preparing in your season of waiting?

1 Samuel 2:9 says “..a person does not prevail by his own strength.”  God is calling us to Himself and He wants us to express our needs while we wait. He wants to hear from us.

One morning as I was praying and was particularly discouraged with the pace of waiting on a transplant, God placed these words on my heart – “I Will Turn Your Worry into Wonder!”  And during my waiting, He certainly did turn worry into wonder. Almost everyday, He provided me scripture that encouraged me. In addition, it seemed as if just when I needed it, the phone would ring with a friend checking up on me or a card would arrive in the mail to reminded me of God’s faithfulness. Over and over as I increased my “looking” for God, He showed up and provided me encouragement and strength to endure.

Even in the waiting God is good, active, He doesn’t abandon us, He is still loving and provides for us in our time of need. He is present in the waiting and is our Rock and Refuge. He is able to do way above, far beyond what we can even imagine. (Ephesians 3:20) 

We all have seasons where we are waiting for God to move, this is part of life in general. Somedays it may feel as if we are always waiting and it feels overwhelming. This is why it is so important to be prepared. To know who God is and who we are in Christ. God’s word is full of life sustaining wisdom, comfort and encouragement. As you read His words, develop a list of scriptures that speak to you and jot them down. This can be a great source of encouragement while we wait. I put post it flags all over my journal to mark scriptures that stand out to me and remind me of God’s faithfulness. These are where I turn when the waiting gets tough.

Two Psalms have really spoken to me during this time, Psalm 121 and Psalm 91. Both speak of the abundant way God is active in our lives and have served to remind me He is present in my circumstances. I pray you take the time to read these today and soak in His love for you.

As you are waiting, remember in John 10:10, Jesus says “I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows]” (AMP Bible)

Blessings,