Isaiah 40:31 -Yet those who wait for the LORD Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.
Have you ever felt like life was a storm, and you were being battered?
Have you ever been so tired that you felt you couldn't hang on until the next calm spot in the storm- which is usually the calm before the next storm?
That kinda sums up 2007 for me- the few calm spots followed by the next unbearable storm. That might sound pretty depressing, and at face value it is. BUT what a learning experience this year has been. I've learned more about strength, about trusting, about leaning into others, and about love than I've probably ever learned in my life. I've learned, and grown in faith, and come closer to God than ever before in my life. The verse above really true- we do gain new strength when we wait for the Lord.
Not only do we gain strength, but we are blessed in so many ways when we wait patiently on God. Even when the waiting is hard, God has a plan for us, and lets us know what that plan is one small bit at a time. We just have to take the time to trust, to take that leap of faith, that small first step. For me that step was really hard. I feel like I've been trying to do it my way all my life, and that my way should have been God's way- but I was so wrong. God doesn't work in the way I do, and more often than not we need to wait for Him.And I'm so glad I did, because if things had gone my way I would have missed out on so many blessings.
I want to share a story with anyone who is reading this. It might sound like a silly story, but it's one that reminded me of God- a blessing.
My daughter and I were painting the other day, I had enlisted her help in painting a mural, not something she wanted to do, but she did anyway. A fly flew into the paint can she was using. As I watched, she tried, in vain, to free the fly. She gently scooped it out from the paint, and took it to the bathroom to attempt to clean it off. While this was a futile effort, she really tried. Her logic was that the fly was God's creature, and deserved a chance. A few days later my son came downstairs carrying something. He went outside, and came right back in. I asked him what he was doing, and he said that there had been a fly in his room, and rather than kill it because it was bothering him, he had caught it, and went outside to let it go.As I reflected on these two events, they were a real life reminder that God cares about the smallest creatures and counts every hair on our heads, and that maybe, just maybe, my kids' compassion to a lowly fly should be a reminder to me of the care and love He gives us.
Lord, I come before you tonight to give thanks, thanks for giving me strength to not get tired, thanks for holding me up when I am tired. Lord, your grace and love are truly a gift that I desire to always appreciate. Lord, guide me and love me, and lead me to do your work, in your way, in your time. In Christ's name. Amen.
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