{"id":9390,"date":"2021-08-10T13:15:16","date_gmt":"2021-08-10T18:15:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thedisciplemaker.org\/?p=9390"},"modified":"2022-04-22T20:40:43","modified_gmt":"2022-04-22T20:40:43","slug":"encouragement-as-you-wait","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/2021\/08\/encouragement-as-you-wait\/","title":{"rendered":"Encouragement As You Wait"},"content":{"rendered":"
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I completely love the GPS apps on my phone. My mind serves me in a lot of ways, but wayfinding is not one of my strengths. Insert: All the driving apps. I\u2019ll admit, but I won\u2019t apologize: I\u2019m spoiled by them. Do you remember the days, even if only in childhood, when the person in the passenger seat held the giant map with the route highlighted in yellow marker, and the only possible way to know \u201chow much longer\u201d was to guess at the distance between your fingertips? Detours and construction sure didn\u2019t show up on that map, so your trip could be suddenly delayed by hours, and there was almost nothing to be done about it. Those days are over; now we can know for reasonably certain that we will reach our destination in two hours and twenty-one minutes, and if there is an ever-so-slight change in that plan, the GPS will quickly inform us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But making our way through this road trip of life seems to be more of the old-fashioned map variety. \u201cLooks like I should go this way, maybe that\u2019s the best plan, but I can\u2019t know for sure, and I can\u2019t tell where I would find any Starbucks on this route.\u201d Give me my trusty apps, complete with updates and icons and police alerts, thank you very much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We Do Not Wait Alone<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Waiting <\/a>feels hard because we aren\u2019t in control. We are living in a time when something is wrong every single day. Hurricanes. Investigations. Allegations. Another mass shooting with another list of victims. Perhaps each year of being single on another birthday reminds us that we\u2019d dreamed of being married by this age. Other years of wedding-anniversary dates remind us that we thought we would still be married at this age. There are diagnoses. Disappointments. Natural disasters. All reminders of how very little we can truly control. When we lose control, we get terrified quickly. And even if we can trust and believe that God is in control, we may not like how he is driving this bus we\u2019re all in together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I cannot make you believe he is good. But I can only trust the sovereignty of God because I also trust the sweetness of Jesus. He is not a flippant God without care for his children. He can see things we cannot see; he has information we do not have. If he says no, then I can choose to trust that this answer serves for a greater plan\u2014and maybe even my greater good\u2014that I cannot see. When I cannot make sense of it, I can remind myself that I do not hold all the pieces of this puzzle. And I can recall that he has always been with me, closer than my own breath, even when he didn\u2019t give me what I wanted. Even, and perhaps especially, when he gave me exactly what I didn\u2019t want.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I deeply love this verse: \u201cYou did not forget to punish the guilty or listen to the cries of those in need\u201d (Psalm 9:12, CEV). Those first four words have captured my heart. You did not forget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God Has Not Forgotten You<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In the midst of the waiting <\/a>seasons, and even in the midst of the seasons-after-the-wait, I need to rest in this deep truth: God did not forget. Those four words prompted me to list the things my God has not forgotten. I discovered this practice is good for the soul, whether the sun is shining or not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Make your own list. Say what your heart needs to know he remembers. In your honesty, may you make way for truth and new perspective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n