Many of us sit and wonder, while looking out our windows, when will we have answers to our problems? We can wait in two ways for our answers: passively or expectantly. The passive person sits around waiting for answers to come. They give up after a short time, and say, “No answers came. The problem is still here.” The expectant person believes that the answers will come soon. Every morning, they say, “They will come today.” God does not want us to give up on finding answers to our problems. He wants us to wait, patiently, with joy and anticipation. Every morning, I try to say, out loud, “This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us be glad and rejoice in it.” Do I always manage to be so cheerful? No. Even when I am tired after a rough sleeping period, my heart just says it softly.
Romans 12: 2 (KJV) states, “And do not be conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is good, and acceptable, and the perfect will of God.” We will not experience the will of God by leaning on the ways of the world to solve our problems. Because God gave us the mind of Christ, we can renew our minds and think the way God thinks. God had answers to our problems before we even knew that they were problems. By choosing to wait patiently for our solutions and by choosing thoughts and actions that are filled with faith, our patience will be supported by God’s endurance and love.
John 14: 27 (KJV) states, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” The circumstances surrounding our problems are not the peace that Christ gives us. The peace He gives us are the gifts of the Holy Spirit that push us to grow through our thoughts, actions, and attitudes. We must let go of worry, fear, stress, and negativity. When things get tough, I choose peace. This does not mean that I ignore or deny my troubles. It means facing my problems and acknowledging that God surrounds me with His peace, love, hope, light, and grace. All I need do is pray to Him to be in everything in my life.
I have learned to wait on the Lord for He makes all things new. Nothing is impossible with Him, even the most difficult decisions I may face. Christ asked me to follow Him a long time ago. Maybe it was when I lost my baby or when I lost my mom. Maybe it was when I became estranged from my dad after my mom passed. Maybe it was when I thought about a career change. Maybe it was moving to a strange and new place to live after my husband, Charlie, passed. Or maybe it is now as I am in my senior years and wonder what my future will be. The only truth is God’s, and Christ has walked by my side my entire life. Perhaps, that is what the waiting is all about. I am waiting, patiently, for my eternal home with God and His Son. Every morning that I wake up there, I will say, “This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it!”
Anna Hartt
