This is a guest post from my daughter, Abi, originally written two years ago. Her desire back then for a “new season” included the desire for a boyfriend. She just got married two weeks ago. However, the truths in this post are timeless and will carry her (and us) through many longings and struggles.
Lately, I have been dealing with frustration. I do trust that God has a good plan for me. Yet, I keep finding myself looking at my life, knowing I am so blessed, and thinking, “God why haven’t you given me this yet or why am I still in this season of life when I am so ready for a different season?”
It’s not that I don’t trust God, it’s that I’m just frustrated by the waiting. Honestly, I think I’m frustrated that His plan is not lining up with my plan and my timing.
Day after day, I keep asking God for what I want, and day after day I keep waiting. Yet, I know I’m not the only one who has struggled in the waiting.
The other day my quiet time led me to Psalm 77 (I highly encourage you to take a moment to read it…I will include it here for you).
1 I cry aloud to God,
aloud to God, and he will hear me.
2 In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord;
in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying;
my soul refuses to be comforted.
3 When I remember God, I moan;
when I meditate, my spirit faints.
4 You hold my eyelids open;
I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
5 I consider the days of old,
the years long ago.
6 I said,[a] “Let me remember my song in the night;
let me meditate in my heart.”
Then my spirit made a diligent search:
7 “Will the Lord spurn forever,
and never again be favorable?
8 Has his steadfast love forever ceased?
Are his promises at an end for all time?
9 Has God forgotten to be gracious?
Has he in anger shut up his compassion?” Psalm 77:1-9
I love this Psalm because it captures a struggle, we all face. The psalmist is in anguish over the current situation to the point that the writer asks, “Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has He in anger shut up His compassion?”
Think about your situation, your problem, your trial—do you ever start to question God?
I do. Sometimes I think, “God do you even like me?”
I believe God allows us to see the psalmist question God because He knows there are times we will question too.
And a note here, I think it is okay to question God—if we allow it to cause us to trust Him more. This can happen when our response is like that of the psalmist here—he has questions, but he doesn’t walk away with his questions, he ultimately runs to God with them.
Right after the psalmist questions God, the writer praises God for what He knows to be true—not what he FEELS to be true.
10 Then I said, “I will appeal to this,
to the years of the right hand of the Most High.”
11 I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
yes, I will remember your wonders of old.
12 I will ponder all your work,
and meditate on your mighty deeds.
13 Your way, O God, is holy.
What god is great like our God?
14 You are the God who works wonders;
you have made known your might among the peoples.
15 You with your arm redeemed your people,
the children of Jacob and Joseph.
Even though the psalmist questions, he deliberately chooses to change his mindset to worship God for His faithfulness in the past.
The situation wasn’t fixed, and the answers hadn’t yet come. It’s not like in that moment, the psalmist saw the future going his way. No, the psalmist had no idea what the future would hold, but he spoke the truth he knew. He claimed it and he walked in it.
And y’all, that’s exactly what our response should be too. We can look at God and say I have no idea what you have for me, but I KNOW that you have been faithful before and you will be faithful again even if that faithfulness looks different than my plan.
The last thing I love about this psalm is what the writer ends it with.
19 Your way was through the sea,
your path through the great waters;
yet your footprints were unseen.
20 You led your people like a flock
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
God’s footprints were unseen, but God was at work!
God’s way for us often will not look like our way for us. And sometimes we won’t see God’s footprints, yet the lack of seeing the footprints does not mean He is not working. No, it means that God is working in ways that we cannot see, but it is always for our good and His glory.
He will lead us on His path—He may keep us waiting and we may not see or understand. But this we can trust—He is going to grow our love for Him and our dependence on Him along the way because He loves us too much to leave us content in where we are in our walk with Him. He won’t leave us, and He has good for us.
So, with this New Year quickly approaching, instead of trying to figure out the next 6 months, trust Him with each day.
(Yep…we can take that to the bank no matter what kind of day or what kind of season we find ourselves in! )
Kim Jaggers Ministry 