Don’t let your feelings play games with your mind and make you doubt God’s goodness.
“Good things take time.”
“Patience is a virtue.”
“All good things come to those who wait.”
Blah blah blah …
Related Article
5 Ways to Stay Connected with Your Spouse
It’s not that easy! Waiting is hard. It’s grueling and can sometimes leave us hopeless. That’s why we felt we needed to draft this short article to help you increase your hope in the midst of the waiting.
“God is not making a mistake in my life.”
Some of you know our story, but for those who don’t, here’s the quick breakdown: We tried to get pregnant for over a year, and that process can lead a couple to some weird and dark places. We went from almost giving up on our dream of having a family to trying awkward tricks to “up” our chances of conceiving. All the while, we were trying not to spiral into the kind of negative self-talk that says, “Maybe it will never happen for us.” All those conversations in our heads and with each other continued. They went on until we broke. When we hit rock bottom, that’s when we found The Rock we stood upon. Those difficult experiences led us to these three essential truths we believe can help you walk through your season of waiting.
-
God’s will is perfect.
Something we found ourselves repeating over and over, especially whenever doubt crept in, was “God is not making a mistake.” We believe what Scripture says: God’s will is “good and pleasing and perfect” (Romans 12:2 NLT). We have to remember it is God’s will and not our own that is perfect. That fact was a tough pill for us to swallow. But we found freedom in praying for God’s will to prevail over our own because He is a good Father who knows what is best for His children. We encourage you to write it on your mirror, set it to the background of your phone, or do whatever else will help you remember: God is not making a mistake in my life.
-
Our desires can be idols.
When we were trying to get pregnant, it wasn’t until we emotionally broke up with our idealized version of our lives that we found freedom. Idealized can quickly become idolized. We hadn’t realized how much our desires, although good, were fast approaching idol status in our hearts. Does that sound convicting? It is because wanting family is a sweet and wholesome desire, but as Pastor Tim Keller says, “An idol is usually a good thing that we make ultimate.” So have you hit rock bottom yet? We didn’t realize that our surrender would finally happen after we tried to manipulate God. We reached our ultimate surrender to His will when we realized we couldn’t control Him.
-
Contentment is available.
Finally, we learned to enjoy what God had already given us. Some of the best advice we received while waiting was to enjoy our current life rather than living primarily in the future. As Paul says, “I have learned the secret of doing well with little and a lot…” (Philippians 4:11 NLT). We, too, can cultivate contentment by telling our desires, “We know you’re special and good, but we are content where we are. We will make the most out of what we have because we know we are complete in Christ.”
Don’t let your feelings play games with your mind and make you doubt God’s goodness. He is not making a mistake; He is continually sanctifying you to ensure you pursue His holiness rather than your happiness. Do your best to enjoy and find contentment in the now. We don’t know what our future holds, but we do know Who has our future. There are no better hands to be in than those of God. We can wait on Him.
