Waiting is hard work. Right now, I’m waiting to emerge from a food coma from yesterday. Happy day after Thanksgiving, y’all!
I’ll be brief today.
No one should know me better than me, right?
I mean, I’ve lived with myself for 64 years. Have mercy.
Lately, though, in those rare lucid moments of self-awareness, I’ve been struck with realizing just how little I do know. Do you ever surprise yourself by your own thoughts or actions? Do you wonder, dang, where did that come from? Part of that surprise might also include being overcome with unexpected feelings.
This isn’t to say that you are at the whim of your emotions, It might mean, though, that your emotions are gripping you, and not in a good way. Especially when they cloud your judgment, or cause you to behave in a way that feels alien to you. I’ll wager that this is nothing new. Few of us are totally stoic. Waiting is hard work, and waiting on your emotions to settle is especially challenging.
Our decisions are made with a combination of logic and feelings. Neither is bad, in and of itself.
It’s just when we get out of balance that we have problems. Or, perhaps we act on bad information, or our gut feeling misleads us horribly. When that happens – and it will – our tendency is to think we failed. Failed at a decision, failed at an attitude, or maybe even failed at life (as in, “I’m a failure,” which is totally bogus. As Zig Ziglar said, “Failure is an event, not a person.”)
So you find yourself treading water, waiting for something. Waiting is hard work. You just want some direction, some relief.
Fortunately, God knows the exact place where you are in life. He understands intimately what you are going through. That may be a hard truth to internalize, but that’s where faith comes in. He not only knows what you’re going through, but he understands why you’re going through it. He blesses you with patience, love, and stamina to handle everything coming your way.
Your job is to stand fast. You don’t have to really do anything.
You may have to wait to see what he’s up to, but that’s part of the package. Make no mistake – waiting is hard work. He doesn’t expect you to know “how” you’re going to get through whatever it is you’re facing, even if you’d classify it as pain and suffering. The best counsel I’ve heard is to just keep moving in the direction that seems best to you. Do the next right thing.
How true and how timely! Thank you for your blog. It is reassuring, pointed, God focused and true! Blessings to you.