Thou hast made waiting beautiful; Thou has made patience divine. Thou hast taught us that the Father's will may be received just because it is His will. Thou hast revealed to us that a soul may see nothing but sorrow in the cup and yet may refuse to let it go, convinced that the eye of the Father sees further than its own.
Give me this Divine power of Thine, the power of Gethsemane. Give me the power to wait for hope itself, to look out from the casement where there are no stars. Give me the power, when the very joy that was set before me is gone, to stand unconquered amid the night, and say, "To the eye of my Father it is perhaps shining still." I shall reach the climax of strength when I have learned to wait for hope. --George Matheson
Life over the past few weeks have seemed like a holding pattern. I'm just doing what I need to do for school to get through these classes so that I can finally "land" and get on with life. But what am I missing in this perspective? Yes, there are some big details of the next chapter of life that I don't know about, but that is no reason to live differently. Even when I assume to know what the next year of my life will be like, I really have no idea nor do I have as much control as I think I do.
So what do I do now, today, this week?
Work heartily in whatever I have to do (homework, thesis writing, having coffee with friends, driving...whatever!) because I am working for Christ and not for man. Colossians 3:23-24
Trust in the Lord...
Delight yourself in him and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the Lord; trust him, and he will act...
Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him... Psalm 37:3-7
There is a desire in me to be married someday, and while I am waiting and trusting the Lord, part of that process is guarding place in my heart from bitterness, jealousy, anger, doubt, and especially from anything that wants to occupy that place that is not what God has intended. Bitterness and anger at a person I thought was right - block by surrender, taking every thought captive, laying each in God's hands and dwelling on his truth. The same goes for doubt, specifically replacing each doubt that God is holding out on me with the truth of his love and joy and promises for eternal life (Psalm 139, John 15, Psalm 19). Jealousy at a friend or roommate's relationship - PRAY! Pray for that person, that relationship. Prayers of thanksgiving and praise. Focus on God's grace and blessing.
And in all this, there is freedom and waiting is made beautiful.
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