“W A I T.”–That’s the word that I have been hearing over and over and over in my head for the past few weeks. And surprise: for once, I’m actually listening.

I’m a big planner. I love being completely in the know. I write everything in my calendar, and I always know what’s next. I look up the end of the movie as I’m watching it. I skip to the final pages of the book when I’m still in the first few chapters. I like to get ahead of the game. The problem with this is that sometimes my desire to be in control pushes me ahead of God. Many, many times I’ve learned that this is not a good thing.

God has told me “wait” in the past in quite a few situations in my life, whether it be relationships, jobs, family, etc. And what did I do? Just the opposite. This reminds me of Adam and Eve in the very beginning. God gave them every delicious fruit they could ever want, but set one boundary. They were tempted, they got ahead of God, crossed that one boundary, and brought complete destruction upon themselves. Even though this occurred thousands and thousands of years ago, I find myself doing the same exact thing way too often.

When we get ahead of God, that’s like us saying that we don’t need Him, which is exactly what the serpent told Eve in the Garden. But remember, the enemy only comes to do 3 things: steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10). And I have found many times that when I get ahead of God, that kind of destruction occurs.

If I could, I’d love to offer some insight to you that God has given me recently about what He means when He says “wait.” When I heard this word again a few weeks ago, my immediate reaction was “ugh, not again.” But I remembered from reading my Bible that those who wait on the Lord will find new strength and not grow weary (Isaiah 40:31), so this time, I decided to take God up on this promise, and I said “okay.” Almost immediately, He revealed promises to me. God doesn’t go back on his promises, but I also knew that had to do my part and wait on him. There have been many times that I have had the urge to just jump ahead…it seemed so easy. But he said, “No. Wait for me. Walk with me, one step at a time.”

This makes me think of a father with his daughter. Imagine they are walking to the neighborhood park, and the daughter is just so excited to get to the park that she runs ahead of her dad into the intersection. Because the father loves her, wants to protect her, and knows what’s best, he tells her not to run ahead. He holds her hand and makes sure she walks with him so that she will get to the park safely.

This is the picture I get of God when he tells me to wait. So instead of running into oncoming traffic, I will watch carefully and walk right in his footsteps. In his perfect timing, all of his promises for me will unfold, but right now, he has called me to be where I am and walk step by step with Him. And because of his love, I’ll do it gladly.

No matter what your waiting is, I hope this encourages you to say “yes” when God asks you to wait. I hope that instead of feeling out of control, you feel completely secure because the one who is in control is the same one who is walking with you every step of the way.

With love,

Sarah

“But those who trust in the LORD will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.” -Isaiah 40:31