directed purposeful expectancy

Ever since high school, I have written in journals. My journal entries contain a variety of quotes, song lyrics, meaningful scripture, or just my thoughts and feelings at the time. On those many pages I have written possibly hundreds of thousands of words, poured out my heart, and spilled many tears. Journaling is an outlet for my many emotions. It is also a written account of my life and spiritual growth, but most importantly, a testimony to God's faithfulness. I can look back over 14 years of entries and see what He has done in my life.

I love Ephesians 3:20-21.

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."

How many times has God blessed me with more than all I could ask or imagine...hmmm...let's see...ALOT! I'll give you a few examples.

1) There was the time my senior year of college that I wanted to go to on a mission trip with InterVarsity but didn't have enough money. My parents said they wouldn't be able to help with the whole amount (around $130), but that they could give me half. I prayed for the other half to come in. When I received the money from my parents, there was $100! I didn't know where the rest would come from. Two days before the trip, I got a call that someone had anonymously given $50 toward my trip! I had more than enough (the difference went to help pay another student's way).

2) In 2002, I experienced the rough breakup of a relationship. Fortunately, I would soon realize that it was one of the greatest times of spiritual growth in my life, which I am thankful for. My heart's desire was to be married and I constantly prayed that I would find a husband. A few months later I got promoted at work and decided I should make the half hour move to the town where my job was. Unfortunately there was not an abundance of single men to be found, so in a casual conversation with the Lord one day I said, "Wouldn't it be cool if I moved in right next to a single, Christian guy (who was also good looking)?" Know what? I did move in next to that single, Christian, good-looking guy. We were married a year and a half later!

3) In 2005, Adam and I were looking to buy a home. We fell in love with what we thought to be the "perfect" house. We decided to put in a bid and called our realtor only to find out that someone else had already put an offer on it. We were so upset, but continued looking for houses. The Lord led us to Lucy and we fell in love with her. Come to find out, that "perfect" house had major foundation issues - so big in fact that the person who made the offer backed out of their contract. It also turns out that our payment would have been significantly more than what we pay for Lucy!

As many of you know, we have been praying for several years for a fulfilling, financially rewarding job for Adam. We weathered the years with Parks and Rec and now we're accepting this season with Woodforest National Bank, but we both believe that this is not it for Adam. Unfortunately, neither of us knows what it happens to be and that can leave us feeling hopeless.

In an entry titled Finding Rest and Laughter, I wrote about how I sensed God was telling me to be still and wait patiently for Him. Over the past few weeks since that post, I have encountered this theme at least three or four more times (He just about has to hit me over the head with something in order for me to see it!). On May 4, our pastor preached a sermon about "God's Waiting Room" and it spoke volumes to me. Specifically, I don't know what I'm waiting for, I'm just waiting on God. However, if he's taking suggestions, a new and fulfilling job for Adam would be nice! Johnny (our pastor) said some great things about waiting based on Psalm 27:14. Here are a few nuggets I took away from the message:

* Waiting on God goes against our flesh and against our culture. (This is obvious just by watching the redhead for all of 30 seconds!)
* Don't confuse waiting on God as wasted time
* Waiting is directed purposeful expectancy! I LOVE THAT!!
* Waiting is a readiness to obey
* God works on behalf of those who entrench themselves in Him
* Waiting on God is active, not passive
* Waiting on God is wise
* Waiting on God puts us on His timetable
* If we understand that God is in control, we receive encouragement to press on
* Waiting on God is a time of spiritual preparation and growth. Time spent waiting on God can be the time where we grow the most.
* Waiting on God gives us strength (Isaiah 40:28)

I love the second and third points! This time of waiting on the Lord is not wasted. In fact, I would chalk this time up with some of the best for me spiritually. I also love that waiting is Directed Purposeful Expectancy, there is a great purpose to waiting - do I know what it is? Not yet, but hopefully in time!. So, we will continue praying and see what God does!

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We're just waiting to dive in!