Purified

Dependence upon God is so important to Him. God sees it as so important that He constantly reminds us that this life is NOT about us or OUR timing. Compared to Moses' time of wondering in the wilderness our waiting times are short, but those times of waiting still seem long in the midst of the wait. For example, when we were in North Carolina, it seemed like a church staff position would never come our way! Many of our friends that moved to seminary after us still left before us for ministry positions. We often wondered, "When, God? Why not now?" It just wasn't the right timing. God had the perfect place He wanted us to be at just the right time . . . that place was back in the state of Georgia at Kennesaw First Baptist Church. That was almost three years ago. Once our waiting for that was over, it was time to wait for other things: a job for me, another job for me after that one, the first adoption, now the second adoption. There is just always something to wait for, even in the midst of everyday life . . . waiting in line, waiting for a pay check, waiting for a package to come in the mail, waiting for summer break, waiting for . . . the list could go on and on. Is that really bad, though? In the midst of waiting it can seem that way, but from personal experience I know that God has important lessons to teach me in those times of waiting.

Just last week the concept of waiting came up for both of us. Eric had some things he was waiting on, and several co-workers of mine shared about waiting. I have really been blessed to teach at a Christian school. It's not at every workplace that staff meetings begin with prayer and a devotion. Last Thursday morning my headmaster did just that - started our staff meeting off with prayer and a devotion. As God has been teaching us, the headmaster spoke about waiting.

The Scripture passage emphasized by my school headmaster was Psalm 46:10: "Be still, and know that I am God . . ." Although this is a familiar verse to me, it struck me different this time due to the place I am at in life right now. I later took time to go back and re-read and meditate on that verse. My Bible translation reads, "Cease striving, and know that I am God . . ." The note in my Bible corresponding to this verse points out that "cease striving" can also mean "let go, relax." That says to me that I need to let go and rest in God. I've heard that before and know that. I've even told others that, but right now I needed the reminder. I'm really good at trying to do things on my own and striving too hard at something that was meant to be left simple and in God's hands. That's why Eric often asks me if he needs to go to Moe's to get me an Overachiever. :)

The headmaster continued the devotion time by reading an excerpt from the devotional book My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers (entry for February 22nd).

"Perseverance is more than endurance. It is endurance combined with absolute assurance and certainty that what we are looking for is going to happen. Perseverance means more than just hanging on, which may be only exposing our fear of letting go and falling. Perseverance is our supreme effort of refusing to believe that our hero is going to be conquered . . . there is the call to spiritual perseverance. A call not to hang on and do nothing, but to work deliberately, knowing with certainty that God will never be defeated."

"If our hopes seem to be experiencing disappointment right now, it simply means that they are being purified. Every hope or dream of the human mind will be fulfilled if it is noble and of God. But one of the greatest stresses in life is the stress of waiting for God."

Purified is a great way to state what happens during a waiting time. God is always in the process of refining us to make us more like Him, and I have definitely seen that in my own life. Sure, waiting for God can be stressful . . . if you let it be stressful. I can choose to be stressed out by having no clue when God desires to bless us with a child, or I can rest in Him. That sure does make it sound easy and like I've got it all figured out and together, but that's not the case. Sometimes I have trouble resting in God's sovereignty, and other times it's easy. Regardless of what decision I make, it is always more comforting when I choose to rest in God - to cease striving and know that God's got it all under control.