I’m currently studying the book of Romans, and I came across something today I cannot believe I haven’t noticed before! I feel like this is the type of passage that I skim over a lot, not really realizing the depth of what it is saying and the life changing effects that it could really have on my life. A major part of my struggles in my life have originated from discontentment and anxiety. Discontentment from not being where I want to be and anxiety resulting from me taking the reigns in life. I always tell myself God has a plan and a purpose for where I am, but believing this is a different story. Most of the times, I feel like I don’t know where God is going with where I am in life, and for the most part that is true. God’s ways are not my ways and I am never meant to know everything that God has in store for me because part of the reason He doesn't reveal everything at once(like when things will happen) is to increase my faith.
I honestly never truly understood that until today. When reading Romans 4:20-21, I felt true affirmation in waiting for God and His promises. It reads, “Abraham never wavered in believing God’s promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God. He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever he promises.” This is the purpose of our waiting and our seasons where we feel like we are in a desert. Faith is something that I will never fully comprehend. There is always something more to learn about my faith in God, and because of this, it constantly has to be molded and refined. Faith is an ever growing concept. It would have to be with the kind of God that I serve. He is far too complex to grasp, therefore it would make sense that having and keeping faith in Him is not easy. There will always be tests and trials to mold and refine our faith (Romans 5:3-4). As we wait, our faith grows stronger and we are able to see more and more of God’s character. Abraham was fully convinced of what God said He would do at the end of His waiting period, because of God’s beautiful hand sculpting his faith into an art that would glorify Him in the end.
I truly believe that is one the reasons God wants us to wait for the amazing things that He has lined up for our journey. Faith is so important to Him, because it is the basis of our true intimacy with Him, all of this made possible because of Jesus(Romans 3:27-30). Which is what we were created for first and foremost. It’s deeper than our desires being gratified instantly. God has to make sure our purpose of being relational with Him is being fulfilled, and He uses different ways to do that. It is so common for us to ask the question “when is God going to [fill in the blank]?” But it’s not our job to worry about that and it’s not our job to take matters into our own hands. God is the Creator of this entire universe. He is fully capable of handling any situation. Surrendering our timelines to Him shows such an awesome act of submission to our Savior. We are saying we trust His timing in it all. He is the Father of time. He’s well aware of how much time has passed and it’s our job to just trust Him.
This is obviously not easy, because if it was God would not speak so much of faith in the Bible. Psalm 27:14 states, “Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.” I think the thing that is so brave and courageous about waiting on the Lord is the fact that it is SO difficult and there are so many things in our heart telling us not to wait Him. When things are so easily accessible to us, it’s hard to wait on anything. It’s a terrifying thing to take ourselves out of the driver’s seat and allow God to do all that He needs to in this desert we feel we are in. When discontentment threatens to steal our joy, we need to have the courage and strength to ignore what Satan is throwing our way and keep our faith. This may seem impossible and that’s because it is. Without God, we are weak and have no source of joy. That’s why it’s so important to seek Him and literally cling to Him when we are feeling our weakest, because in ourselves alone there is no strength to beat the enemy(2 Corinthians 12:10). But God is our strength.
This passage is so important because it illustrates the correct way to tackle this situation. The longer we wait, the stronger our faith can become. In this period of waiting for Him, finding all of our joy and contentment in Him WILL increase our faith. But we have to remember to keep looking straight in His direction. Don’t look for the answers anywhere else, keep your gaze on Him.
Hebrews 12:2, “We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from start to finish. He was willing to die a shameful death on the cross because of the joy he knew would be his afterward. Now he is seated in the place of highest honor beside God’s throne in heaven.”
The beauty of waiting is in the end product of that seemingly impossible task. Waiting produces renewed faith throughout it all, and with that faith we are able to glorify God in ways we never imagined and have such an amazing intimate relationship with Him.
About the Author :
Whitney Friday is 20 years old, and currently a senior in the school of nursing at the University of Michigan. She enjoys baking, blogging and shopping. She is a lover of life, laughter, Jesus, sushi and sunsets.
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