Waiting for Rain
Have you ever had a conversation with a child and wondered when and how they figured out things that take some people years to uncover?
As an auntie of 4 amazing blessings, this type of interaction happens to me a lot. I remember having a conversation with my oldest niece, Jharia, when she was about 3 years old. We were on our way home from church, and she was sitting in her car seat sipping on her hot chocolate she had eagerly waited for since we left the house that morning.
“TT… (my given nickname from my nieces & nephew), what does patience mean?” - Jharia
“Wow! Great question kiddo! What do you think it means?”
“I think it means: to wait.”
“Excellent job J! You are right, it does mean to wait. But there is one important part of the meaning you are missing. Do you know what that might be?”
“Um, well TT I think it also means don’t get mad about it.”
(In my head I was thinking, dang, this kid is smart.)
“Yes! Precisely kiddo, it means to wait WELL.”
“I was patient for my hot chocolate.”
“Yes my love, you were very patient and I’m proud of you.”
I smiled and laughed to myself. Baby girl, you are WAY ahead of the game!
Faith (like patience) means to wait WELL.
What does waiting well look like for you? For me? Is it the same for all of us? Does each season of waiting require the same things?
Something I’ve learned over the course of my life is the answer to these questions are…complicated. Its different each time, a new level of personal growth, a stretching; but there is always a constant foundation of faith. A belief that God is working even if we can’t see it no matter how long it takes.
I was listening to a teaching recently from a gifted friend of mine. He was speaking about the 2 rains mentioned in Hosea 6:3
“Let us acknowledge the LORD; let us press on to acknowledge him. As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth."
He was encouraging us to pray into that coming rain, to believe for the latter rains of blessing to pour down. Even while we were in that “in between season” where the process within is happening, to firmly believe God is bringing breakthrough. We spent the last half hour of the evening broken into groups and praying for each other boldly. It was a really powerful night. I’m pretty sure I cried for most of it.
I’ve since thought about that teaching quite a bit as it was so timely for my life, as I’m sure it was for most (if not all) of the group that night. I’m in a season of transition, and no doubt we all have something we are waiting for.
There are promises I’ve received years ago that I am still waiting on, and there are new promises that I am believing for as well. There are promises that fall into categories I’ve seen God’s faithfulness manifest many times. And therefore, I am able to stand on personal testimony of breakthrough and provision. Then there are promises that fall into areas that are brand new for me and stretch me in ways I’ve never imagined. They require a bolder faith to stand firm as I wait for God to move. At times I feel like Noah building an ark in the middle of a desert that never had rain…
Every waiting season is different.
Some of my promises require me to take small timed steps of faith as I pray and move towards the promise, co-laboring with God as He does all of the heavy lifting. While others are promises that I am asked to simply believe in faith, “Be Still, I’m taking care of it.”
Do I know exactly what promise requires which level of involvement each time?
Nope. As a matter of fact, I get it wrong most of the time. But the thing about a real relationship with God is that He gives wisdom and understanding when you ask for it. As our relationship grows, I can recognize when I am striving for a promise instead of being still, and I can also sense when I am being still and I need to move. There’s an ease, a peace, a tangible grace that comes when you are in the will of God. The longer I walk with Him, the more time I spend in His Presence, the more familiar His leading becomes. And when I get it wrong, (which is a lot), His gentle hands will always course correct.
Character matters, timing is everything.
There are promises I’ve held in my heart for years, and as time goes by I wonder if they are still for me? When you don’t see any proverbial clouds on the horizon for that long, those seeds of doubt try to slip in. Yet every time I start to lose hope, someone or some thing will come into my life and breathe life back into that space. He never wavers, and He is always faithful to strengthen us when we become weak. He doesn’t miss a thing. God’s goodness is something we can firmly rest in. I love what He says in Habakkuk 2:3 -
“The vision will happen at the time I have appointed. It moves steadily toward its goal and it will not be proven false. If it seems slow or delayed, just wait for it! It will certainly happen. It will not be late!”
Only God can truly know when we are ready to steward the promises He gives us. Timing is everything with Him. The “in between space” where the internal process happens, is where He grows our character and prunes away the unfruitful branches. A broken character will crumble under the weight of a blessing if it’s given in the wrong timing. God’s too good to do that to us. So if He’s not done working, then we are not done waiting.
Waiting is a journey of faith.
And more recently, I have received words of promise for my life that are [with 100% transparency] really hard to wrap my faith around. I know that God can do anything. Nothing is impossible for Him. Yet, in this area He’s placed this seed of promise; I have no history with Him. We’ve never traversed this “land” together and it falls into a gray area in the Bible so there is no physical text I can cling to. Having it spelled out in God’s Word makes it easier for me. These promises, however, are stretching me in a way that my other promises can’t, because I am 100% reliant on God’s character and the confirmation of godly counsel that they too believe it’s from Him. It’s hard not to think you’re crazy with some of these promises, but God doesn’t do things in basic ways…He’s always extravagant.
He wants us to KNOW Him. To TRUST Him. To ABIDE in Him and OBEY Him. Each step we take with Him grows us more than we may ever know. He promises to light the way, to make the crooked places straight, to make the rough places smooth and to make a way where there is none. The journey is an adventure.
Pray into it and grab your umbrellas.
So friend, as we wait for the latter rains to come on our promises let’s step out in faith and grab an umbrella. Let’s meditate on the promises He’s given and solidify them in our heart knowing God is for us and His word never returns void. Let’s pray for each other and believe in faith that each promise is moving closer to the goal set before us. I believe in the power of prayer, and I believe in our Mighty God. The rains are coming.
You are loved.
Hill
