I’ve been lost here for so long but thanks God I was able to share you a quick post today while I was taking a short afternoon break here in the office.
Have you ever experience facing a lot of options, choices and decisions yet you don’t have any idea which direction to take? You know you want to move in the direction God is leading, but the problem is you don’t know which direction that is. You’re floundering, not knowing where to go, what to do, or how to do it. You can’t see what the outcome of each choice will be and many factors have to be considered in making each single decision.
I was reminded recently of the verse, “Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart.” It led me to meditate on the wisdom of waiting for God, rather than making decisions when we can’t see clearly ahead.
I’m sure you can think of times in your life when you had to make a certain decision but you couldn’t seem to get any answers; but when you waited in prayer and with faith, trusting God to come through for you, He eventually made the way clear and you were glad you’d waited and trusted.
Waiting is an important element of the faith life. It’s not easy, but it’s part of the process that God uses to instruct us, teach us patience, build our character, and draw us closer to Him. The next time you’re in a holding pattern or in waiting mode, be encouraged. God will always make a clear way to our life if we just waited and trusted Him!
Scriptures that will help you today:
Hebrews 10:23 (NKJV) Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.
Romans 8:25 (NKJV) But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.
James 5:7-8 (NKJV) Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.
Single ka? Sus friend! Di ka nag-iisa! Napakarami mong karamay. Singleness doesn’t have to be all doom and gloom. Porket single ka lagi ka na lang mag-eemo at maiinggit sa mga nakakasalubong mong mga naka-HHWW (holding hands while walking). In fact, much can be gained from seasons of waiting. I’ve read some articles and blogs from other single women on how to stay focused on Christ while making the most of time spent alone—whether it be 20 minutes or 20 years. Game? Ano kaya mo pa?
If I were to make a list of my least favorite things to do, I’m pretty sure waiting would rank in the top five. Minsan kasi nakakabagot naman talaga maghintay. There aren’t many things I enjoy less than remaining in that agonizing place of staring my hopes and longings in the face and wondering how, and when, and if God will ever allow them to come true. Tapos may nagtanong pa samin kagabi, “Paano mo malalamang naghihintay ang isang tao?” Umiikot yung isip ko kung ano ang isasagot ko……hayyy.
“Why doesn’t anything just happen for me?” I often find myself grumbling, tired of waiting, tired of trying to hang onto hope as the months, years slip away, and so many questions remain unanswered. I long for a breakthrough in a tedious career that does little to spark life in my heart. I struggle to find a meaningful purpose to center my life around. I wonder when God will finally bring the right man into my life to love and be loved by. So many times I’ve begged God to finally reach down from heaven and move, speak, act, shine a light on my path. But so often when I go to Him with my questions and restlessness, He doesn’t reveal anything instantly. Yes, He brings hope, He renews my faith, and He gives me strength to keep going. But in that gentle, quiet voice, He also speaks the words I’ve heard over and over again … my daughter, wait. Tapos isa pa ulit, … my daughter, wait. Paulit-ulit yang bulong sakin ni Lord.
And so I do. And as the years pass by, I’m finally beginning to realize it’s in these seasons of waiting and being still before God, pouring out my heart before Him, that He does some of His greatest work. It’s in the desert, the wilderness, the quietness that God can restore hope and vision and deepen my character. It’s in waiting that I get to know God’s heart more intimately and finally begin to realize He is my life.
Here are a few of the things I’m learning as I continue to walk through my own season of waiting.
1. Don’t try to do life alone.
There was a time when I struggled through life on my own, too scared and stubborn to let anyone in. Siguro dahil na rin sa mga nagging past experiences ko. Although meaningful relationships were the one thing I longed for above anything else, I was terrified of being rejected. And so I became a girl who never admitted a need, never burdened anyone with my problems. If there were tears to be cried, I cried to my friends but more often behind closed doors. If there were hurts and fears to be dealt with, I waited until no one else was around. I was the one everyone came to with their problems, but rarely would I risk letting them see the wounds in my own heart.
Thankfully God didn’t let me stay there, but it’s been a long, slow, painful (and scary) journey to realize we were never meant to walk through life alone, and that God actually designed some of His most powerful work to happen. If it’s growth, freedom, maturity, wholeness, and restoration we’re after—then people, the right people, are going to be one of the biggest tools God uses.
Sa schedule ko, I always find time to meet with my friends (Powerpuff Girls) and other churchmates and almost always I leave marveling at what God does as we get real with each other. Doubt, confusion, loneliness, questions, victory, heartache, joy, sickness, disappointment—every week we lay it all out in the open, we pray for it, we remind each other of the truth, we call out gifts in each other we see God developing. And as we do, our confidence is restored that God is working.
I don’t know how I lasted so long trying to do it on my own. But I see now that time spent waiting for God to shake things loose is never wasted if we’re staying vitally connected with people who help us not to lose sight of who God is and what He’s doing.
2. Look back at what God has done.
I’ve kept a journal and every now and then when God feels silent and it seems like nothing is happening, I’ll take out a volume or two of my messy scribbling and allow myself to be transported back over time. Yung mga notes kong inaanay na pero yung laman ay fresh na fresh pa rin. HAHAHA! I read, laugh, and shake my head, and somehow as I do, faith begins to seep back into my heart.
It’s so easy to lose perspective in a long period of waiting, but looking back and seeing God’s faithfulness gives me the courage I need to keep hanging on. If He’s already brought me this far, why should I doubt that He’ll keep leading me in the future? Why should I think He’s not going to finish the work He started? I’m like the Israelites wandering around in the desert, so quickly forgetting how God led them out of Egypt and across the Red Sea, giving them manna to eat and water to drink and rescuing them from their enemies. But I don’t want to lose sight of everything He’s done, even though right now the next thing seems so far away.
3. Figure out what makes you come alive.
A few years ago I made a list of everything I want to do before I die—a list that ranges from sky-diving to writing a novel to learning to drive a motorcycle to going to Paris. I looked at the list the other day and was pleasantly surprised kasi yung iba ay nagawa ko naman na pala which is favor talaga ng Lord. Just like reading my old journals, my list keeps me in touch with who I am at my core, my unique personality and interests, the passions that make me come alive, the fears and challenges I’d love to overcome.
I’ve come to realize that even in waiting and wondering, our hearts can be alive and growing. Every day we can pursue joy and growth and opportunities to really live. That’s why I took a break from my busy schedules and went to UP Diliman with a friends, then had a jogging, talks and laughs with them in the park and listened to the sounds of nature. That’s why I often have my nephew over for sleepovers where we watch cartoons, eat insane amounts of chocolates, and giggle late into the night. That’s why I write and make blog – because these things, in their own small way, make my heart come alive. And as long as there’s life in my heart, I know I can keep waiting and trusting and hoping for the day when God will bring answers to the deeper questions I’m wrestling with.
4. Learn to rest.
“Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). I can’t count how many times that verse has made me stop in my tracks and realize that all my hard work and all the self-help books in the world will never bring about the kind of lasting change I long to see in my life. And it takes God speaking those simple words for me to realize, again, that instead of laying out ten quick steps to becoming a godlier woman, instead of burdening me with more that I need to do, God is instead inviting me to rest. He’s instead calling me into relationship with Him, inviting me to get to know His heart and His character. He’s instead speaking to me of His love, of His delight in me, of His desire to sit with me for awhile and talk.
I’m so good at letting the trap of busyness consume me, at working tirelessly at every area in my life that I’m not satisfied with. But it’s only when I step back from all that hard work and finally rest that my thirsty soul is actually satisfied, and that peace and balance are restored to my striving, unrestful spirit. “Be still and know that I am God.” Okay, Jesus, I will.
Yes, the season of waiting is difficult. But our roots go down deep as we wait and trust and hope in God. So whether you’re waiting for guidance in a major decision, or waiting for a broken heart to heal, or waiting for love, or waiting for a clear career path to unfold, know that Jesus longs to walk with you right here, right now.
“This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It’s adventurously expectant, greeting God with a child-like ‘What’s next, Papa?'” (Romans 8:15, The Message)
Expectant.
Hopeful.
Confident.
Now that’s what I want to be known for in my season of waiting.
the sweetest Melody 