When we first started deputation we met a missionary family who was finishing up deputation. I was talking with the wife and she mentioned that it took them over six years to raise their support. Six years. This is not what you want to hear when you're just starting! Praise the Lord He allowed us to finish deputation in just two years. Once we were close enough to that 100% mark we applied for our visa. Little did we know that we'd be waiting for three more years.
These past three years have been a huge time of growth for me personally. God showed me my need of a closer relationship with Him. I often asked Him why I couldn't learn this stuff on the field, but He chose to have us wait for three years. Waiting is not my forte'. I began to study out what the Bible says about waiting, and here are some verse that spoke to my heart...
2 Chronicles 20:12 - "...neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee."
Philippians 4:7 - "And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."
Isaiah 26:3-4 - "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength:"
Isaiah 30:7, 18 - "...Their strength is to sit still...blessed are they that wait for him."
Isaiah 40:28-31 - "Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."
Psalm 37:34 - "Wait on the Lord, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land."
Isaiah 55:8-9 - "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways highher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." - My personal favorite.
I'm not sure if I will ever know here on earth why God would have us to wait, but I am thankful for the time we were able to work with a church on the Navajo Nation, for seeing my dad remarry a godly lady, and to be able to welcome my brother home from Iraq. God is good...all the time!
If you are waiting for something, may I encourage you to simply trust in God. Remember, "Faith in God also includes faith in His timing."
Do you have a favorite verse on waiting? Please share it.
We plan to make this a weekly post. Do you have a devotional that you would like to share? Please email us at baptistmissionarywomen@hotmail.com. Please share with us what the Lord is teaching you in from His Word.
