The sound of their laughter illuminates my senses…the air is thicker…the colors all around me are brighter…I can feel the thud of my heart as it slams against my chest, proclaiming joy.
I look into the smiling faces of my two little girls and for the first time see completion in their eyes. I look into the smiling face of the love of my life and see that same evidence…completion…God-breathed…family.
As I take in the life around me and I feel the joy in my own heart swell beyond the borders of my chest, life seems to slow down. Everything around me starts to move at a slow pace…revealing images I have dreamed about my whole life…family…completion…my best friend and soul mate, the beautiful love of my life…my daughters with excited –swollen cheeks of bliss as they move about the room.
We’re all together now and we’re all living out the beauty of Gods plan…the beauty and nature of His loving kindness. I look at Courtney and her eyes blaze a deep heavenly blue, while her smile is radiant in the happiness she has found.
We’ve been waiting for this…we never gave up no matter how hard life got…we never gave up.
I hear King David in my head say, “Don’t give up. Wait for the Eternal in expectation, and be strong. Again, wait for the Eternal.” (Psalm 27:14)
This truth…this concept…waiting for God…we all struggle with this reality…there is no one in the world completely patient…there is no one in this world who hasn’t found difficulty in the “waiting” seasons of life.
We live in a world of instant gratification and quick satisfaction….many of our needs, wants, desires, dreams, and wishes can and are pursued and fulfilled sooner rather than later.
But we can’t do these same things when it comes to waiting on God…we can’t fulfill these same quick pursuits of the heart by creating our own self-fulfillment. The product(s) of our own creation will ultimately leave us hollow and feeling un-purposed. Yes, we have been created to succeed in our life and accomplish so much…but we can never forget that everything we do, we do to bring glory to the Lord…and this includes the times in life that we must practice waiting on Gods best.
It’s not a perfect journey…we’ll stumble and fall at times…we’ll grow impatient…but if we can be strong about the desires of our hearts…no matter what they are…if we can wait on God…His will and the process by which to get there will be so much sweeter and so much more purposed and rewarding.
So often we quote God’s scripture and say things like, “Good things come to those who wait.” (Lamentations 3:25) The problem is our Christian culture has made a habit of turning Gods Word in to easy or cheap clichés and we’ve lost the significance of Scripture like this. We miss the truth that while in waiting for Gods best, we are also seeking it. So while we’re waiting on God, we’re not sitting idle and accomplishing nothing. Everything God does has a bigger much grander purpose…and it’s going to be accomplished in His time…we just have to be willing to wait to experience the beauty of His purpose and His desire for us all.
“He will fill your mouth with laughter; your lips will spill into cries of delight.” (Job 8:21)
Some of you might be thinking, “I’m a long ways from laughter and cries of delight…you have no idea what my life is like.” You know what? You’re right…I have no idea what your life is like nor would I even try to compare my own life with yours. The truth is we’re all on a journey and we’re all apart of Gods great story…but we all don’t share the same experiences or realities…we all face very unique lives.
I hope you’ll let me tell you this though…if you’re willing…if you’ll wait for Gods best in your life, no matter what it is; I promise…Gods going to reveal His love and plan for you…and He’ll do it in such a way that you’ll wonder why you were ever impatient…you’ll wonder why you ever doubted He would come through.
It’s not an easy process brothers and sisters…but anything worth it never is.
Trust Jesus…be strong…have faith…believe…someday you’ll find that laughter you’ve been missing…someday you’ll experience cries of joy that you never thought possible.
