Testimony Tuesday: “Waiting” by Craig Suglia

God Gold of the day

“I cannot wait to give you the answer on how to deal with your season of waiting… its killing me!”

How many times have you heard someone say “I am in a season of waiting” or tell you that you are in a season of waiting and to just trust God and His timing? I have heard and said this so many times and to be honest it can be more discouraging then anything at times. I feel like it is a general and sort of a cop out answer when it is given to me and when I say it to others it can feel like empty words.

Whether you are waiting for that raise at work, for a future spouse, to start a family, to get accepted to your dream school, end of financial worries, to finally quit an addiction, or finding your career job there are endless possibilities, but regardless you are in this season of waiting, and you want a quick fix and for it to happen now. When you are in this season of waiting with no end in sight to be real it sucks sometimes. In this season, I know I get very impatient especially when I compare and see other people around me thriving; it may make you wonder why it seems like God is answering their prayers and not yours. Which can lead to stress, depression, and worry which could make you look other places instead of God to try and get a quick fix to your problems or to get your wants and plans answered.

Sometimes seasons of waiting can be days, weeks, years, and sometimes you might never get what you want. I know this so far sounds negative and discouraging, but JUST WAIT.

Something that I have realized very recently in this season of waiting which has been years is that I am praying, hoping, and waiting for things I WANT. I am waiting for my plans and wants to come through even if they aren’t inherently selfish things. I know when I pray, and you may do this too when you pray at times about these wants and plans you may say; “Let your will be done in my life God in this season of waiting,” but in the back of your mind you have your plans, timing, and desires that you are praying for. Or you could be putting God in a box with your requests, your timing, and your plans and hope that He answers them. Let me challenge you with this!

Take some time to read these verses before you continue reading this Romans 12:1, Luke 9:23, and Philippians 1:21. Verses I have heard many times phrases like “dying to self”, “take up my cross”, “present myself as a living sacrifice”, and “to die is gain” I heard those words and I understood what they meant, but never put them into practice. If you don’t know what they mean I will try to explain first with “taking up your cross” it will help bring them all together. So the cross now is seen as a symbol that relates to Christ or being a Christian my chain has a cross on it so some people might assume I am religious or a Christian today because I have a cross around my neck. In Jesus’ time, a cross symbolized death, and not just any death but the most intense and painful way to die. When Christ died on the cross for our sins He completely surrendered to God the Fathers plans and fulfilled the purpose He called Jesus Christ to do.

So, when I read these verses now and put the context of that time period behind it, it hit me harder than before. Christ is literally asking me to take my selfish wants, my sins, and my plans for my life and to put them on the cross, and to put them to death and present myself as a living sacrifice in complete surrender to His plan.

So, I challenge you to everyday pray to take up your cross and die to yourself in complete surrender to His plans for your life. Instead of asking for your wants and plans ask God these kind of questions without any of your own input; “God where are you calling me to go?”, “God what are you calling me to be?,” and “God who are you calling me to be with or impact?” When you truly die to self, “to die is gain” really means something. You put to death all the stress and worry of when or how your plans or wants are going to come true and you gain the endless possibilities and things you could not even imagine that God can do when you truly are seeking His will for your life. Living this way is hard and it is a daily decision to take up your cross it leaves you vulnerable hoping and having faith that God is working behind the scenes.

I encourage you to read Romans 8:28, Romans 4:21, and Philippians 1:6 through this time of waiting as a chance to really grow in your faith and relationship with Christ and trust His plan not yours  for this life. I encourage you to be excited in this time because literally with God anything can happen and is possible when you are following His plan for your life.