Waiting For God's Best

If you have ever heard the phrase "let go, and let God", you can probably relate to what I am about to say.... "how can we let go of something that is breaking our hearts or that we desperately want!?"

Sometimes waiting on God to intervene in our lives feels like nothing less than torture. 

One particular prayer that I have been praying for nearly fifteen years, makes me feel a bit like Isaac in today's Proverbs 31 devotion, while he spent twenty years pleading for a son.

All these years, I have been praying for my sweet sister to be cured of Multiple Schlerosis. To say that it is torture watching her suffer daily with all the afflictions of the disease would be nothing less than an immense understatement.

If you have a loved one who is suffering in some way, I know you understand, and like me, you probably pray every day for their healing too, or maybe for your own.

I do pray every day for my sister, and sometimes more than once a day.  In fact, I beg. I plead. I tell Him how our whole family would be forever grateful if He would bestow His mercy upon her. I promise to share her miraculous divine healing with all who will listen. I remind Him (as if He didn't already know) that if He healed her,  her powerful testimony would impact many hearts and lives, and isn't that what He wants?

I make sure God knows that He would be ever so glorified by answering my prayers for her miracle. In fact, I have even gone so far as to bargain with God, asking Him to take a blessing from me, if it would guarantee her healing, comfort and freedom from pain.

Sometimes it feels like I wear my heart out praying for her.

And yet, her healing has not happened.

No matter how fervently I pray for my sister's deliverance from disease, heaven seems silent. And I admit, I am tired of waiting.  I know God has the power to heal, and I want it for her.  I want answers. I want action. And I want it now! Before it's too late.

Whether you are waiting for physical healing for yourself or for a loved one, for that perfect job opportunity, for your soul mate, for deliverance from a bad circumstance, for freedom from an addiction, a restored marriage, or for a child, it seems that waiting on God is one of the hardest things a Christian is called to do.

In fact, we don't like waiting in any shape or form. Who enjoys waiting in the drive-thru for food, or waiting in a grocery line to pay, or waiting for someone to call?  Nobody - because waiting is no fun! Waiting requires us to be idle and inactive.  But the difference in waiting on God, and waiting on earthly things, is that this holy waiting is not a passive activity, but an active leap of faith.

During our waiting period, God calls us to surrender our desires to Him, and to trust that He hears them. We are to trust Him with our whole heart, and pursue Him, even when He seems silent. And we can seek courage and strength by believing that although we do not understand His ways - they are right, and good, and hold a purpose that we may not be able to see right now.

Sometimes on difficult days, when I am feeling overwhelmingly frustrated with the wait, I close my eyes and reflect on the past. I find comfort in remembering those spiritual markers in my life when God moved mightily, and when I saw Him answer prayers in such mind-blowing ways, that there was no doubt it was Him.

As I remember how I have seen God use terrible circumstances in my life as the stepping stones to increase my faith and provide opportunities to glorify Him through those experiences, I cannot help but smile at His sovereignty and wisdom.

Seeing and remembering what He has already done in my life as a result of past consistent prayers, helps me to have faith for the future, and anticipate what He will do, as a result of my consistent prayers today.

Unfortunately, there is no easy way to "let go, and let God", especially when what we are letting go is so embedded in our hearts and souls. Yet, through our consistent and heartfelt prayers, even at the risk of sounding like a broken record, we will experience a strengthened faith as we savor God's promises until the answers come.

Today I choose to believe, that despite my desperate longing for my sister's healing, that God knows what is best, that He hears my prayers, and that in His timing, in His ways, He will answer. And even though it's hard, I have to trust that His answer will be nothing less than His very best... right on time. And I hope that you feel encouraged to do the same.

Sweet friend, if you need to surrender a desperate desire to God - a prayer that you have been praying for so long that you are starting to wonder if God hears - will you leave a comment here today?

For each person who leaves a comment, sharing the longing of their heart and committing to actively seek God's face during the wait - I promise to pray for you as you strive to trust God in the wait for answered prayers.

*If you feel led to pray for my precious sister, her name is Christie.  The meaning of her name is "a follower of Christ", and that she is, despite it all.