“I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in His word I do hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning— yes, more than those who watch for the morning.” Psalm 130:5-6 NKJ
“Wait on the LORD; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the LORD!” Psalm 27:14 NKJ
We’ve all hear the saying, “It’s always darkest before the dawn” but when that hour of darkness lasts for two years the soul of a man can become weary and weak if he doesn’t put his hope in God’s Word of promise. But for the man who puts his hope in God’s Word of promise and waits patiently for Him; He strengthens his heart and guards his mind. This is the lesson we learned during these last two years of waiting for the open door to move to St. Louis to fulfill the vision God gave us for the church and resource center. But I want you to know that putting our hope in God’s Word of promise didn’t come easy and at times it was a battle unlike any battle we have ever fought!
We battled the voices of doubt, fear, worry, anxiousness, unbelief, and exhaustion! These voices came from the enemy, from our own inner voice, and from people in our lives. But we fought day after day to keep hope alive because we knew that God always fulfills His promises to His people! Sometimes we had to enlist family members and dear friends to battle for us because we were too weak to battle for ourselves. We were blessed with a few people who truly believed in the vision God gave us and we used the “phone a friend” lifeline many times throughout these last two years! They were faithful to build us up, encourage us, and speak truth to us; even when we were blinded from the darkness of the night’s hour that surrounded us.
It is important to note that during these last two years my husband has been in excruciating pain due to his injury that never healed and he has been battling to receive the medical care he needs to get his arm fixed. This was another battle that we had to fight that took its toll on us. But we stood strong in the Lord and the power of His might throughout the battle and God has worked on his behalf to perform his Word in the situation.
I had my own battle to face during this last year that took its toll on us too. My children went to live with their dad in another state for the year and due to our financial situation it made it impossible to see them more than once during this time. My children are my life and not being with them has been the most painful experience I have ever had to deal with! Even though we speak on the phone every day it is not the same as holding them in my arms and loving on them in person. But once again God was faithful and He heard the cry of my heart and placed my children on the heart of a dear friend who stepped in to be a mommy figure in their lives in my absence. Words cannot describe how grateful I am for this friend! But I can say that her act of love protected my mind from going to the deepest depths of despair and it kept me safe in the arms of the Father because I knew that He was protecting my children and providing for them even in my absence!
Waiting is not one of my strong points because I have always been able to make things happen! I am very creative and very tenacious and I don’t give up easily; but the lessons I have learned in this time of waiting have been priceless! God has revealed Himself in ways we never expected and He has taught us life lessons we would have never learned if the door had been opened when the vision was first given! My husband has spoken in over 1500 churches, had a daily radio broadcast for two years, has been the featured guest on several Christian television networks, and ministered to thousands of people over the last 33 years in ministry. We have both seen miracles, signs, and wonders happen instantly in our own lives and in the lives of others, and this is what made waiting on the Lord even more difficult during this season of darkness because we knew that instant miracles do manifest in the lives of God’s people!
But God had an even greater work to do in us, in the lives of those who have stood in faith with us and in the lives of people He would bring into our lives to fulfill the vision; so performing an instant miracle wasn’t in His plan this time. But what we had to remind ourselves of daily is that any miracle is an instant miracle even if it takes years to manifest! Our responsibility is to remind ourselves of this during our seasons of waiting on the Lord! His timing is not our timing and His ways are not our ways, but to the man who puts His hope in God’s Word of promise, God always performs it because He is faithful to those who wait patiently on Him!
But when the dawn finally breaks forth with light it is so bright that all visions of darkness dissipate and the newness of the day is a glorious sight! But even when this happens it doesn’t mean that more delays are not on the horizon. But when you hope in God’s Word of Promise when those delays come you do not lose hope because you know it is just a matter of time before the miracle promise manifests in the natural realm!
To be continued......
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