Daughter in Waiting Ministry

Are you waiting on God to fulfill a promise that He’s placed in your heart or spoken to you?
Are you waiting on God’s promises to be reflected in certain areas of your life?
Are you tired of waiting on God to move in those areas of your life?

My answer to all three questions is a yes and because of this, I’ve been challenged with fully trusting God. I sometimes view God like I view humanity. Humanity is constantly evolving. Our beliefs change, our patterns change, our habits change, our ideologies change, our words change, we change. By placing God in this box of thinking, I’ve thought to myself that maybe God will change His mind, His ways, His promises, and His word in my life. I’ve had to strengthen my faith in Him by leaning on what I know about His nature.

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”

Hebrews 13:8

God speaks confidently about His deity because He’s consistent in His character and remains constant as He is. Since God doesn’t change, His word can’t change.

“God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind.Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?”

Numbers 23:19

God is faithful to His word. When I have doubts regarding this, scripture and biblical history help my unbelief:

“And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.”

Genesis 17:8

Genesis 17:8  is one of the first promises we see from God in the bible. Before the nation of Israel entered Canaan, the Promised Land, God spoke it to them. Later on in the books of Deuteronomy and Exodus, God encourages His people with the promises He’s given them in order for them not to grow weary and to build their trust in Him. He makes promises to the Israelites, but their lives don’t reflect these promises when He first makes them. Instead of being encouraged by God’s word, they had a hard time trusting it.

“They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt?

Exodus 14:11

The Israelites were so distraught in the wilderness – on their way to this promised land filled with milk and honey – that they wanted to turn back to what was familiar. They wanted to go back to their bondage in Egypt (because they knew what to expect there) more than they were willing to move forward towards their own land (because they were unsure that this promise from God would actually come to pass). Their question to Moses perfectly exemplifies the pain, fear, regret, and the disappointment we can feel in the waiting seasons of our lives as we struggle with trusting God. Sometimes it seems easier to turn back instead of moving forward. It seems easier to feed our worries and concerns (the changing aspects of our humanity) instead of our faith in God (the only constant X). Moses, however, didn’t focus on the problems or what was in front of him. He leaned on his faith and therefore trusted God’s word.

And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”

Exodus 14:13-14

It’s so important that I use this approach towards my lack of trust. In moments of unbelief, we have the choice to silence it. I can choose to silence my doubts or fears and feed my faith instead. I can choose to lean on God’s word and trust that even though things aren’t looking like they should in the moment, it doesn’t mean that God isn’t working. 

I’m thankful that the story doesn’t end there. It couldn’t have ended there. I can even go as far as saying that it never would have ended there. We already know this about God’s character – He’s faithful to His word. After forty years in the wilderness, the nation of Israel entered Canaan. The book of Joshua accounts for us the Israelites obtaining this land and God fulfilling what He spoke.

“Not one word of all the good promises that the LORD had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass.”

Joshua 21:45

Our Christian faith is strengthened by our trust and faith in God and the knowing that the promises of God testify to His power and authority and deity. Since the Lord keeps one promise, He’s faithful to keep all promises.

“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”

Isaiah 55:10-11

His word came to pass for the Israelites and it also came to pass for a virgin named Mary. Before Mary was to birth The Messiah, an angel of God visited her and confirmed to her that she would be pregnant. We can only imagine how things must have looked like for a virgin to announce to her loved ones that she was pregnant. Like Moses, Mary didn’t choose to feed her fears, she chose to trust God’s word.

And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

Luke 1:38

We know the ending to Mary’s story. She birthed Jesus. When we find ourselves in moments of doubt, the journey that the Israelites took to the promised land and scripture like Joshua 21:45 or Luke 1:38  should encourage us to trust God. God does what He says He’ll do. Of all the 1,000+ promises listed in the New Testament, not one of those can’t be fulfilled in our lives as Christians. I may not feel like trusting God but the truth is this, God is faithful in His nature. He doesn’t turn back on His word. I have one of two choices when it comes to trusting God: feed my doubts or feed my faith.

“And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

Luke 1:45

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Instead of providing scripture to meditate on this week, I’d like for you to join me in prayer as we surrender those areas of our lives we have a hard time trusting God on.

Dear Heavenly Father,

I am in awe of your unwavering nature. I’m so thankful to worship the one true deity who fulfills all of his promises. I surrender my frustrations, my fears, my worries, my doubts to you today. I surrender those areas of my life I have lost hope in.

I surrender: _________________________________________________________

I pray that you can renew my hope and trust in you. I also pray that you develop my trust so that I can believe in the fulfillment of your promises in my life. Please help me lean on your word and give me the strength to not grow weary as I wait on you. 

In Jesus’ Name,

Amen