Devotional

One of the families waiting for court dates sent this devotional to our Ethiopia Yahoo group.  It was encouraging to me as I wait.

"...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

Ever feel like God signed you up for an intense "wait training" class?

You pray.  You ask.  You anticipate God's answer, but like an Internet page taking a long time load, you must wait. 

And wait.

And wait some more.

I had to wait years before I became pregnant.  During that time I attended baby showers while choking back tears.

I had to wait nearly throee years for our too-expensive-for-our-new-financial-situation home to sell.  During that time, I pinched pennies and lost sleep.

And I'm still waiting on many prayer requests:  for a spiritually lost loved one, a family friend in ICU, a plan for my high school son's future.  Waiting, waiting, waiting....

But just as physical weight traing builds strength, so does spiritual "wait training".  We are promised this in Isaiah 40:31:

"...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."

How can waiting renew our strength?  After all, doesn't waiting seem to sap our strength as we worry and fret and drum our fingers impatiently?  It's exhausting playing the "What if?" game in our minds: 

What if this doesn't work out?
What if God's answer is "no"?
What if the thing I fear the most actually happens..what then?

All this worry-laden waiting drains rather than strengthens.  How can we turn this around and actually find ourselves renewed?

I have found that to shift my perspective in the waiting times replenishes my strength. I try not to think of those times of seemingly silence from God as waiting in the sense of sitting and anxiously anticipating a response.  But as in waiting like a butler, maid or restaurant server.

 Those who "wait on the Lord"--as in serve Him, cater to Him, help Him, accomplish His work; those who take His order and bring Him what He wants-they are the ones who renew their strength.

They mount up with wings as eagles.

They walk and do not faint.

As we serve, we become more aware of what the One we are waiting on desires.  We become alert, attentive, and in tune with His wishes.  We begin to take our eyes off of our problems and fix them on the Lord instead.  As we do, we get a glimpse into His heart.

Then, instead of the wait sapping our spiritual strength, it is renewed as we seek to do the Lord's will...to make Him famous...to give Him glory.  Even in theose long, hard times of waiting for an answer, we continue to serve Him.

Will you sign up with me for Wait Training 101?

You'lll grow stronger spiriual muscles if you do.  But we must commit to this perspective:  we won't just "wait on the Lord," we'll wait on Him.  Trust me, the tips He leaves are out of this world!

Dear Lord,
Teach me to shif my perspective during those times of waiting and oubt.  May I stop fretting and worrying, and busy myself serving You instead. 
In Jesus' Name.  Amen
 

News!

A little good news can go a long way in this process called adoption.  We received updated pictures and information about our girls today.  It was so nice to see their smiling faces.  They are so beautiful!  I can't wait to share their smiling faces with you.

We are still waiting for a MOWCYA court date and recommendation letter.  We are now expecting that court date to be scheduled in March.  Then the expectation is to travel 10 days later.  I am half afraid to receive the call with the date, knowing that our whole world is going to be turned upside down from that day forward. 

Oh, that God would choose me to be a mother again, to two precious girls.  My emotions are all over the place when I think about the gravity of our decision to adopt.  How could we say yes when our lives were so full and busy; yet how could we say no, when we have room for more.  When the Lord of all creation calls you to do something--something so radical that it shakes your whole world upside down--so out of your comfort zone--so completely out of your control; the only choice is to say "Yes!"  To say "no" would be to turn down an opportunity for God's glory to be revealed and for God to work in our lives.  So, we wait...expecting that God's timing will be perfect.