God always fulfills His promises. Always.
Remember that, even if it's hard to be content, and hard to go through the many struggles we go through in life, there is always a rainbow after the flood if we follow Him.
I just had one of the best days of my life. =)
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Waiting Part 2: Rather Random Thoughts
"You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope. Tell me not that I am too late, that such precious feelings are gone for ever. I offer myself to you again with a heart even more your own than when you almost broke it, eight and a half years ago. Dare not say that a man forgets sooner than woman, that his love has an earlier death. I have loved none but you. Unjust I may have been, weak and resentful I have been, but never inconstant."--Persuasion
Jane Austen knew the virtues of waiting. Her main characters are always in some state of waiting for happiness.
Too often, we become discontent in our waiting because of comparisons. If someone asks you when you're going to finish school, or when you're going to have a boyfriend, or when you will be done with so and so, it is usually very frustrating. I think we get frustrated by these questions because we assume they are judging us. We assume they are saying "Why don't you have a diploma on your wall yet? I do, look at mine!" When in reality, they usually just care about you and want to know what you've been up to. That's when you look them full in the face and say "I sure am working on it!" :)
"Love suffers long and is kind." Notice that the suffering part is linked to kindness. It's not ok to be mean to others just because you are going through a drain pipe.
The best things in life really are worth waiting for...it's not just a little cleshay phrase. But waiting means fighting, not just waiting.
If only time could pass us by...
Sometimes it feels like the main thing we do in life is wait.
As kids we wait to grow up, in school we wait to graduate, as adults we wait to buy houses, start families, and have the career we think we want.
Waiting isn't a bad thing, and it definitely teaches us many good life lessons. There is a pitfall, however, that can come with obsessing over waiting. If all we think about is what is yet to come, then we are missing out on bright amazing parts of our lives. Abraham waited hopefully, in a good way:
"When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself, 14 saying, “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.”[d] 15 And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised." --Hebrews 6:13-15
Here, God Himself swore that he would give Abraham children. Abraham had a hard time waiting, his wife Sarah certainly did too, but in the end the Word of God says that Abraham waited paitently. If waiting was easy, God wouldn't use it to refine us. There's nothing wrong in admitting that waiting for something good is one of the hardest things you will ever do. Abraham tried different ways to get an heir. Sarah laughed when she heard about bearing a child, but still, their faith and trust in God is a beautiful example to us all. Abraham didn't waste those years waiting for Isaac. He built up an inheritance for him.
Instead of focusing on waiting, I think we should be preparing ourselves to receive God's promises. This means delighting in our time now, while preparing for the future. After all, there will always be things worth waiting for, but the present is here today and gone tomorrow.
As kids we wait to grow up, in school we wait to graduate, as adults we wait to buy houses, start families, and have the career we think we want.
Waiting isn't a bad thing, and it definitely teaches us many good life lessons. There is a pitfall, however, that can come with obsessing over waiting. If all we think about is what is yet to come, then we are missing out on bright amazing parts of our lives. Abraham waited hopefully, in a good way:
"When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself, 14 saying, “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.”[d] 15 And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised." --Hebrews 6:13-15
Here, God Himself swore that he would give Abraham children. Abraham had a hard time waiting, his wife Sarah certainly did too, but in the end the Word of God says that Abraham waited paitently. If waiting was easy, God wouldn't use it to refine us. There's nothing wrong in admitting that waiting for something good is one of the hardest things you will ever do. Abraham tried different ways to get an heir. Sarah laughed when she heard about bearing a child, but still, their faith and trust in God is a beautiful example to us all. Abraham didn't waste those years waiting for Isaac. He built up an inheritance for him.
Instead of focusing on waiting, I think we should be preparing ourselves to receive God's promises. This means delighting in our time now, while preparing for the future. After all, there will always be things worth waiting for, but the present is here today and gone tomorrow.
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