It took me around 30 minutes to start this piece. I usually know what to say because I’ve gone through the experiences I had written about. But, this one is different. This chapter of my life, I am currently re-living. Like retaking a test I’ve put off for some time, only to face it once again.
We all have promises from God. This is part of our covenant with God in Christ Jesus– that what’s for us will eventually make its way to us. However, the journey is not at all perfect. And there are currently times when we deal with matters of uncertainty. Doubts may plague our minds. “Will it still happen? Why hasn’t it happened yet? Will God be true to His promise?”
As uncertainty usually pops up during the waiting season, I now share with you practical advice as I live them out in my present season. Here is how to trust God amidst uncertainty:
1. Focus on God, Not the Promise
What we focus on matters. If we fix our eyes on the promise, not having it immediately can kill our hope. As hope deferred makes the heart sick, focusing on things beyond their timeline can worsen the waiting season for you.
I’m not telling you to be untrue. You may want the things you want, but you should also ask yourself if you want these things more than your relationship with God. If God did not fulfill His promise on your timeline, would you still worship Him? Ask yourself if the promise is becoming an idol in your life.
The purpose of the waiting is still on knowing God in the process– loving Jesus on the daily. Not just when you’ve got the things you’re praying for and beyond just the hype of praying for the things you want at the onset. The point was, is, and will always be Jesus. Focus on God, not the promise.
2. Listen to God’s Word
Most of the time, the uncertain seasons have to do with waiting. At times like this, there is always an in-between where you stand and where God’s promise resides. The in-between has a purpose and it is always to prepare you for the promise.
Are there areas in your life you still need to surrender to God? Any areas for pruning?
A season mishandled can be more heartbreaking than the waiting-for-it period. Better listen to what God has in mind during the waiting season, so you won’t end up regretting misbehaving in your Promised Land.
3. Enjoy the process
I’m hearing this way too often now: “Danielle, it seems like you’re fine with whatever. You have a way of adapting to your circumstances like it’s nothing.”
Trust me, it wasn’t always like this. Like most of us, I’ve gone through my fair share of circumstances that have broken and molded me. These events had shaped me to think and act with a flexible disposition. And I believe it will also help if we step to the beat of God’s drum.
It’s all about perception– allowing God to mold your thoughts about a certain situation. I’m not referring to self-induced or peer-induced gaslighting. I’m talking about the renewal of our minds by seeing through God’s lenses. That is why it’s important to listen to God’s Word in the process. It’s important to hear what God has to say in these uncertain times or in the waiting season.
In the waiting, we encounter so many challenges. That includes being uncertain. As doubts have plagued our minds at one point in time, may we understand that God will always be higher than our thoughts. God is greater than our hearts.
Isaiah 55:8-9 (ESV)
“8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
1 John 3:20 (ESV)
“for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything.”
In the uncertain moments, know that we have a God who is sure. He is sure not just about what He has promised you, but He is sure of His plans for you and what you are becoming in Him. You can trust in His unwavering character, amidst ever so changing circumstances. And rest in the peace that surpasses all understanding– entrusting an unknown future to a known God.