THE STRUGGLE
I wish I could say that the smile on my face matches how I feel, while I’m in the process of waiting. I’ve found that, often times waiting can be the most uncomfortable, and painful process. However, I’ve learned that when I wait on God and stick to His process, I’ve experienced rich rewards.  Most importantly I’ve learned that God strengthens us when we lean on Him during life’s delays.

Learning to wait not just on God but in God is the key. I have an unfavorable tendency to want to take control and even fight my own battles. Forgetting that God is in control, and taking the wheel just drives us deeper into frustration. We have to abide in Him. Wait in God, surrendering to the Holy Spirit, who strengthens us to do what we can not on our own, even when that means waiting a little while longer.

While waiting,  many times, we focus so much on just getting through the process, to the reward. We often under estimate the power in the process. The waiting process is a uncomfortable struggle and challenge. It’s a fight.

However, in todays culture, struggling, fighting, and waiting is not popular. We want the reward without the process. We want the blessings now, no waiting! We want our destiny today and no struggle!  Truth be told, if God blessed you today would you be ready?  Would you know what to do with it?  Would you help someone else? Rewards with no process spoils us. Spoiled children rarely appreciate their blessings. They don’t know what it took to get it. This is why God says, ” To whom much is given, much is required”- Luke 12:48. What we learn in the waiting process helps us stand in the blessing.

YOUR SERVICE
While waiting, we can have what I call a ,”waiting room mentality”. In waiting rooms you just pass time flipping through old magazines, until they call your name. To us waiting is wasting, but to God, waiting is working. We have to view the process the same way God does.

So if God is working, we ought to be also. We should mature in the process of waiting and no longer view the process as a struggle, but view it as an opportunity for service. Truth be told, there are some things we can’t get from God without service. Somethings we simply have to work for.

God strengthens us in our service. Many times we say,”God if you strengthen me I’ll serve you”, but God is saying to us,”When  you serve me I’ll strengthen you for the service”. Our faith has to be more than intellectual belief, we have to act.  And in the process of doing, God will strengthen us for the service.

YOUR SURRENDER
The one thing I pray, is that I’m maturing in relation to my personal relationship with God in my surrender. Living a surrendered life is especially important while waiting on God. It’s in this process after we’ve exausted and struggled through our own plans that we come to surrender.

Surrendering control is no easy task. You would think it would be easy before God, after all He is the creator of all things. Yet, at times I still catch myself jumping in the driver’s seat. As God graciously gets in the car, I’ve learned to say,”My bad, Jesus PLEASE take the wheel”. Daily we have to surrender ourselves to God, and even more so while we’re waiting on God. God already can see, and knows the outcome of your process. But if there is no private surrender to His will, there’s no public surrender to His will. Jesus Christ himself was the greatest example of this truth. Christ’s private surrender was in the garden of Gethsemane. Christ’s public surrender was on the cross. We are the results of Christ’s surrender today! What a great reward! The same goes for us,  before there’s a public display, there has to be a private surrender.

YOUR SUBMISSION
Lastly, after we’ve surrendered to the process, God can trust us with His mission. I think that’s something we sometimes struggle to remember. God doesn’t just randomly bless people. He’s not a genie. There’s a purpose for your blessing. There’s a cause and a mission tied to your blessings. That’s why it can’t just come easy. When God blesses you, it’s not just for you. He wants to impact others through you. So we have to be mindful of the mission. Submission is our goal.  Submit to God’s mission.

My prayer is that we graciously learn to embrace our waiting process, and receive all God has for us in the meantime.

Mercedes Dominique