Isaiah 40:31(NKJV)) says, “But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” Every time I hear someone talk about how exhausted they are from dating the wrong person or waiting longer than they’d like to in order to meet the right person, I think of this verse in Isaiah 40:31. All blessings come from God. This is something we must remember continually, so we don’t end up getting tricked out of what is rightfully ours. We can become so impatient that we miss the very opportunity we’ve been waiting to receive. Heavenly Father doesn’t want us to miss out, and this is why He tells us to keep our minds focused on Him. He knows exactly what we need, and only He can give us the blessing that we really want.
We shouldn’t try to force things, but the truth is that all of us get a little impatient. If we’re being honest, we must admit that we sometimes get tired of waiting for the blessing to manifest. As foreign as it might seem to our way of thinking, it’s actually waiting on the Lord that renews our strength. So even when our hearts are heavy from disappointment, there a few things we can do to help us mount up and stay energized and encouraged for the fulfillment of God’s promises.
#1 Lean on God’s peace
Not long ago, someone came to me with a heavy heart about the man in her life. She seemed fed up and exhausted as she expressed how disappointed in herself she’d become. She’s been waiting a very long time for a commitment from her boyfriend. They’ve been together off and on for almost five years and neither one of them have ever been married. She said to me, “I know in my heart that I love him so much, but my head is telling me enough is enough.” I was not about to advise her to follow her heart…OHHH NO! Our hearts don’t always lead us down the right path. What I did say to her was to allow the peace of God to rule in her heart first, so that she’s clear enough to make the right move.
When we’re agitated and frustrated, we don’t think as clearly, and we miss things. This is when we tend to yield to impatience. A better strategy is to lean on God’s peace. When we cast aside worry, doubt, and fear, and pray in faith with a thankful heart, Philippians 4:7(NLT) tells us, “Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”
#2 Conserve and Target your strength
Isaiah 40:31 tells us that God will renew our strength. This lets us know that sometimes our strength dwindles, leaving us feeling depleted and empty. A relationship with a person that isn’t helping us grow spiritually can do this to us; it can deplete our reservoirs. Some of us invest all our energies into the wrong person, and then we don’t have the spiritual discernment or strength to even recognize or attract the right person.
You and I are responsible for reaching out and grabbing the blessings with our names on them, and this takes spiritual strength. To make sure you’ve got something that God can renew, a wonderful practice is to conserve your spiritual strength. Then you can target it towards the person that deserves it and is destined to receive all that you are able to give.
#3 Be joyful in the wait
Proverbs 13:12(NLT) tells us, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life.” We are perfectly within our right to hope for marriage, but sometimes we place this hope in a person that isn’t a destiny partner; it’s not the person who can help us grow and thrive in the long run. When we don’t anchor our hope properly, it can become deferred, and we are often heartsick about it. This is especially true when it becomes clear to us that a relationship with a person isn’t going to work out. It hurts, but it shouldn’t cause us to abdicate our dream. The lesson from this is that we shouldn’t make the mistake of placing our hope in a person. People will let us down, but God never will. Hope must be placed in God through the Lord Jesus Christ. A hope that is deferred can give us extra time to reaffirm it properly. This means that we will be committed to anchor our faith in God even more, and to be thankful that He is more committed to make our dreams a reality than we could ever be.
There’s nothing like having hope in something or someone and then suddenly, your dreams become a reality. Heavenly Father wants us to experience this joy, and He’s helping us to achieve it. Romans 5:5(NIV) says, “And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” The wait for the blessings we desire can most definitely be challenging, but we must remember that God has given us His precious Holy Spirit through Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit is our proof that when we focus all our hope on the faithfulness of God, we will not be ashamed.
There’s nothing like getting what you truly want, and this is why it is important to be patient in the process. We can be joyful in the wait because our Heavenly Father is helping us prepare to receive through the Lord Jesus Christ. No matter how long it takes, it is always better to wait on God so that the relationship we receive is the one we’ve always wanted. We can have confidence that if we remain prayerful and trust God with our whole hearts, we never have to worry about being disappointed, because God is faithful!■
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“Nothing Like Getting What You Want” written by Kim Times, edited by Reverend Fran Mack for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2019. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! SMS is dedicated to inspiring and encouraging Christian Women through the Word of God.