Wait Upon the Lord

 "Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord." - Psalm 27:14

   I came across this verse this morning and have been pondering over it throughout the day so far. It is very applicable. I've heard so many times about how I need to trust in the Lord and wait for His timing in my life. However, this is much easier said than done. It is easy to say that you are trusting in God and doing His will when every aspect of your life seems to be going well. It's when the circumstances become difficult and trials come that our trust in God and our patience in His plan are really tested.

   When things are going right, we feel very blessed by God. We feel close to Him and it is easy to be thankful to Him. But what about when circumstances suddenly change and there's a difficult decision to make or obstacle to overcome? What about when relationships have tension or seem to be falling apart? Or when you think about the future and how you're going to be able to handle all that it holds? When you don't know how a certain situation is going to end up and you're losing the strength you need to keep holding on? 

   It is easy to get upset with God during these times and feel distant from Him. I find myself become easily discouraged, confused, and overwhelmed. I also feel frustration because I want to know the outcomes and results now. I want everything to be fixed or put together. But God is showing me that every conflict or hard time I've went through is all part of His plan. He holds my future in His hands and knows how each piece of my life fits together. I can't see the future and this is when my trust in God becomes real. It's hard waiting and we want to have what we want now, but God tells us if we are patient and wait on Him, He will bring us true peace.

 "We have to embrace the conflict God has put in our story. Often times the scenes that we want to skip produces the endings we all love to see." I don't know of anyone who enjoys going through hard times. They bring us pain, grief, and discouragement, but these are the times that bring the most growth. It's during these times that our trust in God is strengthened and our dependency on Him is renewed. 

   We live in a world that is all about doing things quickly and getting things done, but God asks us to slow down, to look to Him and to be patient as He reveals His plan to us while growing closer to Him. Instead of hurrying along day after day doing what we want, He asks us to seek Him and let Him put purpose into our hearts so that we can live every day for Him, waiting patiently upon our Lord.