Philippians 4:6-9

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”

I love these words from the Apostle Paul. In fact, they are my “life verses”. These are the verses I repeat as a reminder to myself that I do not have to fear what the day brings, God’s got this! My part in it is to bring my requests, my prayers, to Him and let Him handle those situations that I cannot control. Easier said than done sometimes.

That is why knowing Scripture is so important. Because in our times of trial, temptations, and weakness…God uses them as reminders of who He is, who we are in Him, and leads us along the path of His righteousness.

Letting go of control and turning our lives over to God to handle is hard. Sometimes it is so hard all we can do is cry out to him in prayer, often not even knowing what to pray. I am in a period of that right now…a period of not knowing. George and I are in a transition right now of things coming to a close but not knowing what opportunities God will open in the days ahead. Resting in God’s waiting can often times be painful, confusing, frustrating, and downright exhausting. The fear, anxiety, and the unknowing can cause us to feel trapped and helpless. We might even feel hopeless and abandoned saying things like, “Where are you Lord? You have promised good to me but this doesn’t feel so good right now.” or “Why am I not hearing you God? What is it you want me to learn from all this?” That is why, whenever I feel these emotions start to creep up in me, I say these specific verses from Philippians over and over again until the emotions I am feeling at that time don’t override what I know to believe in my heart.

• God loves me and wants me come to Him with my concerns.
• God hears my prayers, even when I don’t see immediate answers
• I don’t have to worry, let God handle it.
• Help me to fix my thoughts on the things you want me to focus on.
• Help me to remember the things I have learned from your Word and help me to take steps forward by putting them into practice.
• Thanks be to God he gives me the peace and understanding in my heart and mind to calm my emotions and let Him resonate within me.

I don’t know about any of you, but this is something I do on almost a daily basis. I try to pray more and worry less. I try to seek God for the answers I am looking for. I ask for His wisdom, guidance, strength, and endurance. Somedays, all I get is silence and I have to understand that it is in His timing and not my own.

I have a song in these times of waiting I love to sing. (for those who know me well know that singing is what I do to calm my restless heart, lol) Here are the lyrics…

In The Waiting...by Vicki Yohe

Pain
The gift nobody
Longs still it comes
Somehow leaves me
Stronger when it’s gone away
Pray I try and pray
For your will to be done
But I confess it’s never
Fast enough for me

It seems the hardest part
Is waiting on you
When what I want
Is just to see your hand move

I want a peace beyond my
Understanding I wasn’t to feel
It fall like rain
In the middle of my hurting
I want to feel your arms as they
Surround me
And let me know that it’s okay
To be in this place
Resting in the peace that only comes
In the waiting

Time, time to let it go and just believe
Trusting in what no one else
But you can see
Free freedom from the fears that
Close me in when I can’t beyond where
I have been but then Again the silence
Doesn’t mean that I’m alone
As long as I can hear
That I’m still your own

I hope it brings you hope, love, and encouragement in times of your waiting…

God loves you and so do I,

Leslie