What Are You Waiting For?
Are you waiting for something? Do you bring the same request to God day after day and yet still wait for His answer?
I think most Christians offer a hearty, “Yes!” to that question. Even if it’s not today, we remember that time when we poured out our heart’s cries waiting, waiting for the promise,
but they who wait for 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.” Isaiah 40:31 (ESV)
I love this verse. I’ve read it and recited it countless times in my life. But recently I realized, when I hold tight to this verse, I only cling to part of it. I want it to say,
but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles.”
And stop it right there.
I wish to soar. I wait for God to grab me up out of my current place and carry me on eagle’s wings to a new, better place. I pray and I plead not for all of this verse, but just the piece that brings me wings.
Because the rest kind of disappoints. I don’t feel like running. I don’t want to walk. I seek rescue, not resources to make it through. So day after day I beg for God to show up, when day after day He does show up, just not how I expected.
We recently moved (again) into a part-time place near Luke’s work. While I unpacked our lives and tried to settle in, aches of uncertainty and questions of purpose plagued my soul. I talked to God often, asking for relief from the weight of my worry.
Then one day a family friend told Luke to look for cardinals. Like the bird. Cardinals.
We didn’t think much of it until cardinals started showing up in our yard. We dug a little deeper and this is what our friend said,
“The cardinal reminds us to stand a little taller and step into our natural Spirit led confidence in the area we were born to lead with grace and nobility as Christ lived His life.”
I wonder how long the cardinals had been in my yard. Were they there the whole time and I never noticed?
Now I peer through my windows looking for a cardinal. And most of the time I see one. A sweet reminder of God’s confidence in me and my purpose in Christ.
When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.” Isaiah 43:2 (NLT)
Could God be in your situation, too? Maybe it’s not a cardinal in your tree, but maybe He’s walking you through. As you pray, ask God to show you what He’s already doing.
You may have to go through deep waters and tread rivers of difficulty. But you will not go alone. You will not drown. You will not faint.
Look for God, today. Peer out your heart’s window. Ask Him to alert you to His endless love that surrounds you.
Has God shown you something as you walk through life with Him? Leave a Comment!
Good Morning Katy,
This one is sure right on time for me. Not sure how you always know that! LOL. I love this about the wings God gives us but that he still asks us to run and walk, assuring that we will not be weary when we do. One foot in front of the other yes? Yes. I live in part of the country where there are cardinals and they are beautiful…………..my favorite time to watch them is in the winter in the snow. They are hard to miss with all those beautiful red feathers against the cold white snow. I love them almost as much as I love doves. God sends me doves. When I see one, I know that it is him telling me he is here with me. I hit one with the car a few months back and it just happened to be during a very dark time for me and I cried my eyes out all the way to work that day. It was like a warning to my soul though………that I needed to pull it together and stop being so selfish, even in the face of my difficulty. He could not have said it any clearer if he had sent me a telegram! The dove flying in front of my car was a telelgram from God. Since then, I have sought help for my selfishness and help to get me through the difficulty and I am finally rounding that corner and you know what? All of the sudden, I am not seeing a dove now and then, or every once in awhile, but I am seeing them every single day and they are above me and in the driveway in front of me and flying next to me and sitting in the trees all around my home. There are doves everywhere lately! I know that it is God telling me, lift your head my child, you are mine and everything isn’t going to be okay, it’s already okay……..I’ve got you.
Have a blessed day and thank you for sharing the word with me!
Beautiful testimony, April! Thank you for sharing. I love the image of the cardinals in the snow. We don’t usually get snow this far south, but that sounds beautiful!