Anxiously Waiting

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4: 6-7 NKJV

Most of us know how hard it is to wait for God to move.  Waiting is not something that we do too well.  It's been said that we live in a "microwave world" where life seems to move at warp speed at times.  So, it's  only natural that, when we're faced with a situation where we MUST wait, anxiety goes along with it.  How do we handle these times?  Trust me, I've been through so many of these anxious moments that I should be an expert at handling them by now.  Yet, each time I encounter one, that same old loop keeps replaying over and over.  What is God up to?  What did I do wrong?  Why is he making me wait so long?  I'm praying, so why doesn't God answer me?  Is he mad at me?  In case you're wondering, the answers to these questions is We'll know soon, nothing, wait and see, wait and see and NO!  It's pretty easy to get caught up on the spinning wheel of questions, when all we should do is...wait.  Oh yeah, I forgot, we'd rather chew on glass than wait sometimes.
Philippians 4:6 gives us some sound advice when we encounter these situations.  Here, Paul tells us that when faced with one of these gut wrenching trials, we are to first PRAY.  Well, at least I'm assuming that's what he means when he says to "Let your requests be made known to God."  Verse 7 should be a comfort to us, the "peace of God" will guard our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.  Remember, Jesus already resides in each and every believer, so he is walking with us through these storms of life.  We do well to remember that if anyone knows about the trials of life, it's the apostle Paul.  Paul absorbed much mistreatment and punishment at the hands of the Romans, yet he remained confident he would see Gods kingdom.  I'm not sure I know very many people who could endure so much torture and still remain focused on their goal.  From this we can take courage, and comfort for our own battles.
We may never know  just what God is accomplishing through us when we encounter our times in the dessert, but rest assured that HE IS working through us.  God does nothing by chance or mistake, so if we are going through a difficult season, we can be certain that he is guiding us allong that path as we go.  It may seem dificult at the time, but it's in these times that we should praise God that, whatever it may be, his will is being accomplished through us.

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.  For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.
Hebrews 11: 1-2 NKJV

We may not know just where God is leading us until our trial is complete, but rest assured he is walking with us the whole way.

~Scott~