He's in the Waiting

The last three years have been a season of waiting and recently the Lord impressed upon my heart to journal all I could think of that He has been faithful to teach me in the wait.  On Monday of this week, our family celebrated that God declared through the African courts that two children are no longer orphans - they are Joneses.  Prayerfully, we anticipate them coming home later this year.  Next month will mark 2 years since we said Yes to adoption but the more I thought about it, the waiting season extends back 3 years, to when we lost our third child, Phoenix, and have been waiting upon the Lord to fulfill the desire He planted in our hearts to grow our family.

It strengthens my faith to look at the inner work that the Lord has done during this time and my hope is that it will also be used in His hands to strengthen others in their own times of waiting.  May He receive all the glory!

** As God's children, we must remember that it is waiting upon the Lord.  If we wait upon an event/person/thing, our strength will be depleted and we will go mad.  Our strength is renewed when we instead, wait on the Lord.

** God's timing can be trusted, no matter what.  He knows things we don't.

** All of our experiences during the wait are kind preparations from a loving God for a future that only He can see.

** God is more concerned about the journey than the destination and wants us to be as well.  What He is doing IN us is extremely important - the deepening of our character. If we are still waiting, it means He still has more work to do.

** He taught me to how to pray persistently, consistently, eagerly and with faith.

** The waiting can be a "space of grace" if we lean into it and embrace how God wants to grow us and strip us of sin.

** Our faith will be tested in the waiting. This is where it becomes crucial to go back to what God has said.  His affirmations hold more weight than what the enemy brings.  When we endure the tests and come out victorious, our faith increases as well as our confidence in God's word.

** Voices of doubt may sometimes even come from well-meaning loved ones.  We must rely steadfast on what we know to be true.

** God is faithful to reveal hidden sins.  He wants to show us what things we are prone to depend on that are not Him.  He wants to keep us humble, which is the only way to experience intimacy with Him.

** Celebrating others' success protects us from jealousy.

** It takes tremendous strength to sit still and wait.  It is my natural inclination to jump to action and the Lord is teaching me the beauty of surrender.  There is a peculiar peace that comes with it.  To sit still and wait for the Lord to act truly does require the strength of Christ, in which I can do all things.

** We are not in control.  The idea that we are, is a false illusion.  God is the Blessed Controller of all things.  It is kind of God to always remind us that He is God and we are not.

** God is not inactive in our wait.  He works around the clock for us, as we wait on Him.  He never sleeps, nor does He need our help.  He simply invites us into the process, to seek and worship Him while He works.

** Waiting develops compassion.  A suffering servant of the Lord is a compassionate servant.  We become people that look over our shoulder, compelled to love on others who are coming up behind us that are asked to walk that same road of hardship.

** He wants me to seek Him both with boldness and surrender.  I can approach His throne of grace asking for my desires, while at the same time holding it open-handed.  I do this knowing that if He answers differently, it has got to be for my best, because He is a God who only gives what is best.  His ways are better than mine.

** He shifts my heart to want the Giver more than the gifts.

The two songs below have greatly ministered to me recently.  I know the Lord will have me walk through more waiting in this life.  It is to be expected, for much of our journey on earth is about waiting. I find Him in all of it - the God of both the mountains and the valleys.

Take Courage

More Than Anything