The
Wait is Over
A devotional by Alexis A. Goring
“But those who wait on the Lord
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like
eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.”
–
Isaiah
40:31 [NKJV]
Almost one
year ago (August 24, 2018 to be exact), I wrote this post (“God’s
Waiting Room”) that was published here on Peg’s Whispers in Purple blog and today, I’m here to tell you that as of
this month (July 2019), the wait is over!
God provided me with a new, full-time job in Journalism!
I’ve been
through a season of waiting for my creative career dreams to come true ever
since graduating from college. Since then, God has taken me on a journey of
detours.
During
those detours, I often asked God “Why do I have to do this?” and “When will my
dreams come true?”
Looking
back, I see how much God enriched my life through those detours. He gave me the
opportunity to work with children from grades Pre-K through 12th
grade. He built my business skills through seasonal employment in retail
working for companies like Pottery Barn Kids, Williams-Sonoma, and Macy’s. And
He gave me the time to rest and make new friends in various career fields. One
of my ministry friends told me during my waiting season that I have “the gift
of time and friendship.”
I realize
now just how many beautiful blessings God gave to me that were not work-related
but more for my personal growth. Blessings that made me feel loved and
purposeful, showing me that my life had more meaning to it than just going to work
and climbing the career ladder.
If you
want to read more about how God made a miracle by blessing me with my new dream
job in Journalism, visit this post that I wrote on my “God is Love” blog this
July 11. Here’s the link
to “Thankful Thursdays: Answered prayers after years of waiting on God.”
If you
revisit my guest post “God’s Waiting Room” on Peg’s blog, you’ll see that
despite my not understanding what God was doing with my life as I waited on Him
to make my creative career dreams come true, I chose to trust Him. I chose to continue believing that He has good plans for
my life (Jeremiah 29:11). I chose to keep praying to Him every day and night. I
chose to encourage myself through Bible study and listening to Contemporary
Christian and Gospel music. I chose to keep asking the prayer warriors in my
life (my family, friends and pastors) to pray for me. And ultimately, I chose
to never give up.
Now, I do
realize that this could have turned out another way. God could have chosen to not grant me the desires of my heart. He
could have chosen to not give me a
dream job in Journalism, which is what I earned my degree in, and I was
prepared for that (often, I told God that anything He wants me to do, I will do
it because He knows me better than I know myself).
But God is
a good God (Psalm 34:8) and He likes to give good gifts to His children (Matthew 7:11)! Yes, He may take you on
detours. No, your original dreams many not come true. But you can trust that
whatever He has planned for you (Jeremiah 29:11) is good, amazing and will help
you feel like your life has purpose.
So as I close this devotional, I want to encourage you to continue trusting God. Continue seeking Him. While you’re in one of His waiting rooms, ask Him how to, as my friend Quantrilla told me, “honor Him in the wait.” If He gives you the “gift of time and friendship” (as my friend Holly told me), then deeply inhale those precious blessings! If He chooses to take you through trials and tribulations while you wait, keep pressing into Him and trusting that He’ll never leave you nor forsake you (Hebrews 13:5)…and when He blesses you with your wildest dreams or more than you could imagine, always remember Him as you live out your God-given destiny!
Stay the
course, dear friends. God loves you too much to let you go!
Another great devotional, Alexis. Thank you so much for sharing your heart and thoughts.
ReplyDeleteBlessings!