Give It Time
“But those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him]
Will gain new strength and renew their power;
They will lift up their wings [and rise up close to God] like eagles [rising toward the sun];
They will run and not become weary,
They will walk and not grow tired.”- Isaiah 40:31 AMP
I often look back on a moment I had with the Lord not so long ago. In March of 2022, I was getting ready to go to sleep in a bed that was beginning to feel empty, too empty. There was a sense of loneliness that had planted itself inside of my heart, and it grew a little more each day. I was mere months away from turning 30 and known as “little miss single”. Being independent and on my own had given me a sense of confidence for years, but without explanation, my desires had begun to shift. I wanted someone to share my life with, someone to hold me in bed at night. I was tired of being alone.
That night, I had only one thing on my mind when I went to pray: “God, I want someone. I feel so lonely in my heart and in my body. I need to know what it’s like to share my life with someone in an intimate way. I need to know what it’s like to be swept up in love for a man. It would feel like a miracle to love a guy after spending years keeping my distance. Lord, I know You had me wait to be with someone so I could heal from my past, but I think I can handle it now. I don’t know how many more years I can go to bed alone. God, I’m a woman in every other way, but when it comes to romance, I feel like a little girl. I want more…”
Oh my goodness, I was frustrated on this night. I wanted to have what it seemed like everyone else had – passion, commitment, a romantic life. I wanted it so, so badly. (Every “it” you can imagine, if you catch my drift, ha-ha. I’m just being honest…) But, because there wasn’t anything I could do about it, I vented to my Heavenly Father instead. He helped me to fall asleep with the reassurance that He saw the desires of my heart and wouldn’t tease me with them.
There is a wise saying that goes, “the things meant for you will find you.” I used to wonder if this was true for everyone, or just for a privileged few. I don’t doubt it anymore. Little did I know on that night of dreaming and hoping and yearning that just 4 months later, I would fall in love with my best friend. We would marry in March of the following year. And now, here we are in October of 2023, and I’m sitting in my office simply amazed! Marriage was not my only dream that came true within the past year. I wanted to buy a condo in Atlanta, move Heart of Hosanna from the small town I grew up in to the city, and go on a second book tour. Done, done, done. All of it has either happened or is in the process of happening. God hasn’t left a single thing out!
I want you know, friend, that I’m fully aware it was all God. I can remember birthday parties I tried to throw as a kid when no one showed up. I remember projects I attempted in my early 20’s that never got up off the ground. I remember relationships I tried to hold onto with both hands clenched, only to see it all slip through my fingers like sand. For a long time, I considered myself a full-on failure. Now I know the truth – there is a big difference between doing things with God’s help and without His help. Without the Lord, it’s only your strength and gifts at work on something (which, even if you’re Albert Einstein, we all have our short-falls and limits.) On your own, there are no guarantees, and often no safety net. With God, though, oh with God - His grace covers you, goes before you, stands beside you. Your path is kissed by divine favor. You can rest assured that all His promises will come to pass!
Now, you may be thinking – “Where I want my life to go isn’t necessarily a promise God gave me, it’s just a hope I have. What does God do with my hopes?” Well, lovely friend, you have a Heavenly Father who treats your heart’s deepest hopes and desires like a serious thing. He is serious about blessing you and helping you to build a life that feels good and healthy. If you don’t get what you hope for, it’s because God truly does have something better.
“Find your delight and true pleasure in Yahweh, and he will give you what you desire the most. Give God the right to direct your life, and as you trust him along the way, you’ll find he pulled it off perfectly.”
– Psalm 37:4-5 TPT
However, good things take time.
“So don’t be impatient for the Lord to act; keep moving forward steadily in His ways, and He will exalt you at the right time. And when He does, you will possess every promise, including your full inheritance…”
– Psalm 37:34 TPT
Beloved one, I know it doesn’t feel like it sometimes, but there is time. There is no need to rush your way through life. If everything were given to us the moment we wanted it, we wouldn’t have what it takes to appreciate it and care for it all.
We are made ready through our waiting process.
Easily-won things are often wasted.
God knows that the blessings we pray for, yearn for, work hard for, and wait for, are going to be treated as treasures when we finally get them.
It turns out, my husband was praying for God to show me we could be a couple for years before we finally got together. He had decided with God that He didn’t want to settle for any other woman, and so if it never went anywhere beyond friendship with me that was okay with him, but he was resolute in his desire not to marry anyone else. So, for a long time, Byron quietly prayed and waited. He made himself as content as he could be with what we were. He didn’t pressure me at all, just kept showing up as my best friend day after day. And then, I asked God for a husband late one night, and soon after realized he’d been there all along. When people hang out with my husband and I, they are shocked by how often we say, “I love you” (it’s about 10 times every hour, ha-ha). But, if they knew how long we waited for each other and for this time in our lives, they’d understand. Our love is a gift from God. It’s the kind of love people pray for – including us!
If I could have known what lay just ahead of me one year ago, I wouldn’t have worried so much. I would have taken a deep breath and told myself I was almost there – but I couldn’t see what God had in store. I’d stood strong in faith for years before this, but my faith was growing tired. My loneliness was all I could feel. When I kiss my husband goodnight in our bed, or when I’m at work in Heart Of Hosanna’s Atlanta office, I think of how impossible it all felt once upon a time… and now LOOK!
“But Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With people [as far as it depends on them] it is impossible, but with God all things are possible.’”
– Matthew 19:26 AMP
If you are struggling with yearnings that feel bigger than your faith in this season of your life, and you are fighting to believe your dreams can happen for you, please receive this encouraging truth tonight:
God doesn’t just care about your needs, He cares about your wants, too.
If it happened for others, why not you?
Give it time, friend. Give God time to work before you let your fears convince you that He isn’t working at all. (When I was little and us kids were getting impatient waiting for dinner to be done, my mama would always say, “Do you want dinner to be good, or do you want it to be fast? You can’t have both!” I think that sometimes God asks us this same question, too. He is always working on something good for His children, and good things need time to simmer!)
“Ask, and the gift is yours. Seek, and you’ll discover. Knock, and the door will be opened for you. For every persistent one will get what he asks for. Every persistent seeker will discover what he longs for. And everyone who knocks persistently will one day find an open door.
Do you know of any parent who would give his hungry child, who asked for food, a plate of rocks instead? Or when asked for a piece of fish, what parent would offer his child a snake instead? If you, imperfect as you are, know how to lovingly take care of your children and give them what’s best, how much more ready is your Heavenly Father to give wonderful gifts to those who ask Him?”
-Matthew 7:7-11 TPT
Having persistent faith comes down to this – wake up every single morning and go to sleep every single night with a simple prayer in your heart, “God, I know You are working and I’m going to wait as long as it takes while also doing my part. You always keep Your promises! Take Your time, because I refuse to settle for anything less than what You have coming for me.”
It always seems like nothing will change… until, very suddenly, everything changes! Your season of answered prayers is coming!
Love you,
- Kelly
