By Jennifer Norton
Like many of us, every New Year’s Day symbolizes a new beginning. For a few years now I have asked God for a new focus for the upcoming year instead of the typical New Year’s resolutions, which I am not very good at keeping anyways. Although my usual A.D.D. self has a very hard time staying on track, each year God has used my New Year focus to transform my relationship with Him.
The year I turned 31, I decided to center in on being a Proverbs 31 woman of God. That year was an experience for us all, but God showed me that I could live out Proverbs 31, even as a single woman. The next year I decided to concentrate specifically on the verses regarding the Proverbs 31 woman making her arms strong for her tasks (Proverbs 31:17) and ran my very first and last (if yall only knew...) 5K. The year after that, the Lord laid it on my heart to practice sacrificial loving and giving based on Hebrews 13:15-16. Each one of these focuses has brought me to a greater understanding of Jesus and my relationship with Him.
This year, once again, I have been asking Jesus to reveal my focus for 2016. As a 34 year-old, single lady and teacher of high school teenagers, the last thing I want to focus on this year is patience and waiting. However, I heard this still, small voice in my heart telling me that this year I will wait again and strengthen my patience.
In hopes of finding my verse for the year, I was scrolling through my usual go-to blogs and social media for bits and pieces of inspiration. I skimmed past a Scripture that I couldn’t remember reading before. I know I have probably heard these verses tons of times before, but never really read it. Especially in the light of my waiting patiently focus, I knew I had never truly comprehended this passage. After reading the Scripture, I knew that these verses were confirming what I felt the Holy Spirit speaking to my heart.
This is what God says, the God who builds a road right through the ocean,
who carves a path through pounding waves,
The God who summons horses and chariots and armies—
they lie down and then can’t get up; they’re snuffed out like so many candles:
“Forget about what’s happened; don’t keep going over old history.
Be alert, be present. I’m about to do something brand-new.
It’s bursting out! Don’t you see it?
There it is! I’m making a road through the desert, rivers in the badlands.”
who carves a path through pounding waves,
The God who summons horses and chariots and armies—
they lie down and then can’t get up; they’re snuffed out like so many candles:
“Forget about what’s happened; don’t keep going over old history.
Be alert, be present. I’m about to do something brand-new.
It’s bursting out! Don’t you see it?
There it is! I’m making a road through the desert, rivers in the badlands.”
Isaiah 43:16-19 The Message
Despite the encouraging message of these verses, focusing on waiting (again) was the last thing I wanted to do. I am tired of waiting… really tired. It’s the age-old struggle for all of us that dates all the way back to when these words were written thousands of years ago. But, instead of concentrating on the waiting, I am choosing to focus on the blessings and new mercies ahead.
A few nights ago, I attended a dinner party with some of the most amazingly strong women I know. All of them are moms of biological, foster or adopted children. Around the dinner table, we shared our struggles, hopes and exhaustion. Many of those ladies know the pain of waiting all too well and had an abundance of advice to share. “Only be concerned with today” was one of the many words of wisdom shared that night, and it reminds me once again to “be alert, be present," just like my focus verse says. God is doing something brand new! And I don’t want to miss out on the surprises along the way.
I’ll be honest that in my waiting there have been periods of dry, desert days where my heart would have cracked open had it not been for the tears I cried -- tears God used to bring me to my knees in prayer. As we begin this new year, If you’re in a season of patience as well, I hope that you will pray with me. Pray that even through the dry desert of waiting we will be alert, be present and joyfully await for the brand new surprises.
What about you? Whether or not you are in waiting, would you be willing to ask the Lord what He wants to grow in you this year? If so, and you don’t have your focus for this year yet, today is the day to find it!
- Pray and ask God to reveal a truth from His Word to your heart.
- Read His word and commit to memorize your verse for this year.
- Find your own “keepers of the focus”, and tell them about your focus.
Ask them to hold you accountable all year long.
So, the way I see it, we can either allow ourselves to be discouraged in those times of waiting, or we can choose to live life expectantly for the blessings our God is preparing for us. We’re never promised “easy”, but through His Word, I am learning that no matter how dry the desert feels now, I can trust that what’s ahead will be well worth the wait.
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