Happy Wednesday. And to those visiting, I say welcome! I post every Wednesday and my sole purpose is to nourish your soul along the way. Each month I give away a Starbucks gift card to someone who posts on my blog. So leave a post, share an insight, bless lots of people, and just maybe you'll win a jolt of java for you and a friend.
Now on to my topic...
Has God put a desire in your heart that you've yet to see come to pass? Where are you in that process? Is the wait getting old? Are you starting to wonder if you heard God right? Have you given up altogether? Well, I hope today's post encourages you.
Maybe you're waiting for a promised blessing to come your way, or hoping for a loved one to come to Christ. Or maybe you're believing God for a promotion in ministry. Or, maybe it's healing you need. God is in the business of keeping His promises, saving the lost, engaging the saved, and healing our wounds! It is His will that we seek Him, find Him, serve Him, and find our restoration in Him.
He is always good and He puts certain desires in our hearts that we might pray them into fruition. Of course I'm not talking about 'name it claim it' theology, but I am saying that God sets eternity into the heart of man. He drops desires into our hearts because He intends to fulfill them. We must pay attention to the longings of our hearts. Sure, at first they may be unrefined or misdirected, but as we dare to place our hearts' desires before the Living God, He will shape, fill, and bring clarity to His desires for us.
Just yesterday morning I was reading in 2 Samuel chapter 7 and I noticed something very interesting. The prophet Nathan spoke God's promise to David and David's first response was to humbly bow and thank the Lord. Let's look a little closer at David's response to God's promise (my basic paraphrase of 2 Samuel 7:20-22, 27):
What more can I say to You? You know what Your servant is really like, Sovereign Lord. Because of Your promise and according to Your will You have done all these great things and made them known to Your servant. How great You are, O Sovereign Lord! There is no one like You! And now, O, Lord, do as You have promised concerning me and my family...I have been bold enough to pray this prayer because You have revealed Your promises to me...
This is what I have learned about standing in faith while waiting for a breakthrough:
1.) Humble yourself before the Living God. Then make time and space to hear from Him. He will speak to you about His desires for you.
2.) Pray and believe that His Word is true and that His promises are backed by the honor of His name. How often do we pray without engaging any of our faith muscles? You know the difference between rote prayers and faith-powered prayers! Once God has revealed His promise to you, be bold like David and lay hold of it through prayer!
3.) Give thanks and embrace contentment for your current lot and your daily blessings. There's much to thank Him for today! He has blessed you today! Stay in the moment while believing Him for the future.
4.) Stay in the Word and trust Him to confirm His way for you through His Word.
5.) Refuse an unbelieving heart or a striving spirit. When you catch yourself living in reaction to these things, get back to that place of peace. Be still and know that HE is God! (Ps. 46:10).
6.) Trust His timing and process in this matter. He knows best and works all things together for the good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Rom. 8:28).
7.) Remember that every promise He makes has eternity written all over it. In other words, His blessings to us are for more than just us. His promises to us are meant to spill over onto others and to create a ripple effect that we will carry with into eternity. No matter how we choose to view our hearts' desires, there will always be a broader perspective to gain and a bigger picture to see, because when we fully lay hold of His promises for us, our breakthrough will deeply impact and bless others. That's why things take time. And it's always worth it to wait for God's best.
Wait on the Lord. Listen for His voice. Take Him at His Word. Stand on His promises. Refuse unbelief. Choose humble gratitude and tenacious faith, all at the same time. And finally, step back and see your life from God's point of view. He's up to something so much bigger than you can imagine.
Isaiah 64:4 ~ For since the world began, no ear has heard and no eye has seen a God like You, who works for those who wait for Him!
~Until next week.