Friday, July 29, 2016

Why Wait on God's Timing?

I want to tell you a love story.
 
My friend has been divorced twice.  As her second marriage crumbled, she reached out to God. She used that trial to draw closer to our Lord. She used that time to allow God to fill all the empty places in her heart. When she wanted to fight, her heavenly father gave her Exodus 14:14: "The Lord will fight for you, you need only to be still." and when she hit rock bottom, having all her hopes and dreams ripped from her grasp, He gave her Joel 2:25: " I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust have eaten."
 
She believed those promises as her marriage finally ended in divorce despite all her efforts to restore it. She believed those promises as she moved out of the home that once held so much promise. She believed those promises when she moved into a little farmhouse...alone. She believed those promises through lonely days and nights and trusted God to fill the void her failed marriages left. Through these years, she learned to talk to God and filled volumes of journals with the conversations she had with Him. She recorded the things he revealed to her through Scripture, sermons, and godly friends. She recorded the deepest desires of her heart and praised Him as her desires became more and more in line with His.
 
She trusted that God would sustain her, even fill her to overflowing, on His own. She trusted that HE would meet the needs in her heart for validation, security, and a sense of value. And He did. As the years passed, she embraced her identity as His daughter and found comfort and security in knowing that the Lord of all creation took time to talk to her each day.
 
She met a couple of nice guys along the way, but her heart, unwilling to settle for less than the love she'd found in the embrace of her Heavenly Father, would not allow those relationships to grow.
 
Then, one day, God opened the floodgate and poured all the blessings of heaven over her. He introduced her to the man He'd spent time preparing for her and the man He'd spent time preparing her for. Separately, they'd spent the past few years seeking God's face, God's will, and God's plan. Separately, they'd struggled against the world's way of doing things so that they could have a deep meaningful rich relationship with Jesus. Separately, they gave their entire lives to Him and chose to live for Him. Separately, they turned to God for healing, having no idea that God was preparing them for each other. Over the past few weeks, God has used him to shower her with love in so many beautiful ways. Through this man, God has wrapped her in his love and  covered her with His protection. He has made her feel valued, cherished, and adored.  God has spoken to my friend's heart and met her deepest need for security and value through this wonderful man...and God has used her to do the same for him.
 
I have been blessed to watch this beautiful story unfold since before my friend's divorce. I have prayed with her, cried with her, and encouraged her through so many stages of this journey.
 
I am overwhelmed by the love God has shown to her in this new relationship. She says "It's like he read my journals. He speaks to my heart." This makes my heart smile as I am overwhelmed at the promises of God.
 
"I will restore the years the locusts have eaten"
 
The "locusts" ate her value, her worthiness, her self confidence and left her lonely, unable to trust, and empty. She believed that God's promise was that HE would restore...and He did. God restored her, healed her, and made her whole...so that HE could give her this beautiful gift...this man seemingly created just for her heart...this man who daily is restoring the years the locust have eaten in ways more wonderful than she could have dreamed.
 
Dear reader,
Wait on God's timing. So many times we become impatient and settle for less than what God desires for us.
It's always worth the wait when we wait on God.