Patience and trust go hand in hand in a Christians daily walk with Christ. You can’t really have one without the other. In order to be patient, you need to trust God, and when you trust God, you become more patient in His timing.
To be transparent, this is something I have failed at time and time again. Every Christian goes through struggles or doubts of some sort, my struggle was being patient and trusting God. I have always liked planning. I would rather know what’s going on and have a plan than be last minute. That’s not really how it works with God, because sometimes God sends us down a different path when we least expect it! Putting full trust in God ultimately means there will be unanswered questions, which has been hard for me.
A few days ago I read the book of Job and it gave me a whole new perspective on this topic! If you’re someone struggling with these things, I encourage you to read the book of Job. Job was a man who went through crazy trials and still loved and trusted God. Job lost his children, his servants, his flocks, and got sick with skin sores all over himself, but still refused to curse God. His friends and wife encouraged him to curse God for letting all of those things happen, but Job refused.*SPOILER ALERT* God was pleased with Job’s response throughout all of this. God restored Job’s health, blessed him with twice as much property as before, as well as more children. God did not forsake Job after testing him. As Deuteronomy 31:6 days, “…he (God) will never leave you nor forsake you.” God was faithful to Job as Job was faithful to God. I really love this book, it’s a great reminder of why trusting in God is so important.
I’m writing this post as something I can look back on when I may question my circumstances or I’m struggling to trust God’s timing on something. I pray that this post speaks to someone that may be struggling with the same thing.
This mission trip requires FULL trust in God. As someone who planned on starting college and having a timeline for graduating, starting a career and all that good stuff, steering off of that path was not an easy choice at first. As soon as I started fully trusting God, it didn’t even feel like a choice anymore, it felt as though it had always been a part of my plan. Like it was already written on my calendar before considering my spring semester of college!
I have learned that it’s still important to be patient even in the midst of excitement. As I assume some of my squad mates already know, it’s extremely exciting to get the ball rolling with fundraising and sending out support letters and getting the word out about going on a mission trip! What I ran into was, I got so caught up in the excitement that I wanted to start working on fundraising projects immediately. I forgot all about being patient and letting God provide, that I started to feel a little behind when I hadn’t raised as much money as I saw other people raising. This brought me back to God’s timing, not mine. If it were up to me, I would have ALL the funds for my trip and for my whole squad raised! Since it is up to God, He is providing funds at different times for all of us according to our specific plan. As John 13:7 says, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” I am so grateful for any support I receive, and I’ve learned not to compare, because I know God will provide for me!
I understand that the Lord’s delay doesn’t always mean “no”, it could just mean “be patient.”
Much love, Rachel <3
