2225 Waiting Without Wallowing

Sometimes God’s plan has us waiting. His timing is not our own timing. But know this, when it is God’s time, then it’s quick time! The very thing that was not happening in all the years before just starts happening!

I know something about waiting. On the other side of a 7 year wait I can tell you that wasn’t God’s punishment, that was God’s graciousness towards me. Working in me, growing me, changing me, making me more like the woman I would need to become in this next season of my life. There is a sweetness to walking in the change and breakthrough you waited so long for. But there can also be a sweetness in trusting God is working before you see the evidence.

I don’t know where you are on your journey – you’re either still waiting for it or you’re walking in it – or maybe it’s both – there’s some areas of your life that you’re smack dab in the middle of healing, you’re wallowing in the goodness you once dreamed of – and there’s other areas of your life that are in that messy construction faze where things seem to only get worse before they get better. Life can and DOES hold both at the same time.

It’s not all good all the time, but it’s not all bad either. Through it all, God is faithfully working. His eye is on you, Sis – he sees.

So what do you do here? Here while you’re still waiting for things to change – waiting for things to get better – waiting for breakthrough – waiting for healing – waiting for restoration … YOU LOOK FOR JESUS!

Yes, Jesus sees you and he’s moving toward your need. LOOK FOR HIM.

In our waiting, we can become so fixated on possible solutions and promised next steps that we overlook the fact that only Jesus can ultimately change this, restore this, redeem this, or make sense of this, my sister.

Yes, go to therapy. But your therapist is not your Savior. That’s Jesus.

Yes, get treatment. But ultimately, your hope is not in the treatment. Your hope is in Jesus.

Yes, talk to a professional. But your professional is not your source. Jesus is.

God can absolutely work through therapists, doctors, counselors, treatments, professionals, and countless other means. But don’t let the means become your source. Look for Jesus.

One of my favorite miracles of Jesus happened at the pool of Bathesda. This pool was a gathering place for the sick seeking healing. Several years ago I studied this miracle and it changed my life. Like for real, it changed me. It didn’t change my circumstances, but it changed my attitude in the wait and helped me look for Jesus. I believe it can do the same for you today.

Here’s how this miracle goes – One day, Jesus showed up at the this pool where all the sick were gathered, but the people there were so focused on the water that they didn’t recognize the One standing right in front of them.

John 5:2–9 says:
“Inside the city, near the Sheep Gate, was the pool of Bethesda, with five covered porches. Crowds of sick people – blind, lame, or paralyzed – lay on the porches. One of the men lying there had been sick for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, he asked him, ‘Would you like to get well?’
‘I can’t sir,’ the sick man said, ‘for I have no one to put me into the pool when the water bubbles up. Someone else always gets there ahead of me.’
Jesus told him, ‘Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!’
Instantly, the man was healed! He rolled up his sleeping mat and began walking!”

Now THAT is a miracle. A 38 year miracle. My friends, that’s a long time to wait for a miracle.

The pool of Bethesda was associated with mercy and healing, and people had gathered there hoping for something to change. But this man had become hopeless because he believed the only way he could be healed was to get into the water first. He had no one to help him, and someone always seemed to get there ahead of him.

So he lay there. And nothing changed.

I love the picture this story gives us. This man had become so convinced that healing had to happen one particular way that he could no longer imagine another possibility. Isn’t that how we sometimes feel after watching other people get their breakthrough, but never us? We’re not the favored ones. It will never be us. Our prayers are never answered.

Maybe this man had watched other people get what they came for while he remained right where he was. Eventually, he stopped believing that his story could be different. Maybe that’s you too. You’ve stopped believing it’s possible for you and your family.

But then Jesus showed up. And Jesus didn’t tell him to try harder to get into the water. Jesus didn’t tell him to position himself better. Jesus didn’t tell him to wait for the next bubbling. Jesus simply said, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!”

Sis, what if Jesus wants you to know that His power is not limited to the way you think your answer has to come? You may have decided exactly how God needs to fix it. You may have researched every possibility, made every plan, studied every solution, and determined exactly what needs to happen next. But what if God has a way you haven’t even considered?

This man believed the water was his answer. JESUS was his answer. The water wasn’t required. Jesus was enough. AND JESUS IS STILL ENOUGH TODAY. He’s enough for your need. He alone holds the power to change everything.

And here’s the part of this miracle that gets me: Jesus asked this man to act before he had any evidence that he could. “Stand up.”

Can you imagine? After thirty-eight years of not being able to walk, Jesus tells him to do the very thing he had been unable to do. The man had to believe the word of Jesus enough to move before he had proof that moving was possible.

Maybe that’s what’s happening for you. Is Jesus asking you to believe Him for what has seemed impossible? Is He asking you to get over how you’ve always thought it would happen, everything you’ve researched, everything you’ve heard, and every plan you’ve made—and be bold enough in your faith to TRY IT WHEN HE SAYS IT?

God’s help is NOT LIMITED. God’s healing is NOT LIMITED. God’s restoration is NOT LIMITED. God’s blessings are NOT LIMITED. We are dealing with a totally unlimited God. Girl, take God out of your box.

Maybe you’ve put all your hope in one particular thing, but it’s the equivalent of this man’s pool. You’ve decided, “This is how it has to happen.” But maybe you don’t need the pool. You need Jesus.

Lord, forgive us for getting so fixated on the solution to our problems that we overlook YOU. You are our hope. You are our source. WE NEED YOU.

He is the answer for your broken heart. He is the answer for your worried mind. He is the answer for your failing marriage. He is the answer for your overwhelming bills. He is the answer for your family. He is the answer for your business. He is the answer for your health. He is the answer for every question you have.

It is Jesus.

But, do you really want to get well?

Some of us have become comfortable with the drama. Some of us have attached our identity to being the victim. Some of us wouldn’t even know who we are without the problem we’ve been carrying for so long.

Do you really want to get well? God isn’t interested in lip service. He sees your heart. And if you really want it, here’s what you do next:
Let your faith move you to action.

You don’t have to know how it’s all going to work out. You don’t have to understand the whole plan. You don’t have to see the evidence before you obey.

If Jesus says it, girl… TRY IT! Stand up. Pick up your mat. And walk.

——-

But maybe today’s not the day he heals you. Maybe today’s not the day everything changes. Maybe today you still wait. As you wait, you are called to increase, not decrease! Increase your faith, increase your willpower, increase your praise, increase your perseverance, increase your trust in the One who has never once failed you. Don’t let the waiting weaken you. Let it strengthen you! Don’t let the unanswered prayer silence your praise. Let it deepen your worship! Your miracle may not have happened today, but that doesn’t mean God isn’t working today. Keep believing, keep growing, keep showing up, and keep expecting Jesus to do what only Jesus can do.

As God prepares his people to wait for 70 years, he tells them to increase. He has promises for them and he is going to fulfill every promise, but they’re going to have to wait for it. But God says as they wait, he wants them to live fully. They are NOT to put their living on hold. He told them to build houses and plant gardens. Marry and have babies. Increase, do not decrease.

But as you wait, have you began to decrease? You’re becoming less and less of who you used to be. Like the man laying by the pool of Bathesda, each day losing a little more hope. Each day becoming more dependent on someone else to help him but knowing no one would.

I know that’s what began happening to me in my wait. I was waiting for my prodigal daughter to return to our family. Years had gone by and things were only getting worse. I felt less and less like who I used to be, and I started acting less like myself. I became guarded, bitter and hardened. Decreasing. All while God was saying, AS YOU WAIT, INCREASE!

That’s when I studied this story of the 38 year wait for healing. And on that day, I felt the Holy Spirit ask me a question. “Pamela, will you wait for 30 years? Will you continue living and live WELL, will you find joy in the wait, will you continue to trust me and chose to live in awe and wonder even if it takes 30 years to bring your daughter back?” He was asking me to increase in the wait instead of continuing to decrease.

That day, I opened my hands, I surrendered the timeline for my miracle and my preferred method for the miracle and I agreed to increase in the wait, even if it took 30 years. Let me tell you something, the moment I made the decision to keep living while I waited, I felt unspeakable strength and joy!

And, in God’s incredible sweetness, although he asked me for 30 years, he showed up and did it in 7! My family is healed and restored!!!!! That’s only through the power of God. Jesus showed up and he did what only he could do. And I’m so grateful he showed me I didn’t have to be miserable while I waited.

And neither do you, my friend.

If you’re still laying at your pool of Bathesda, awaiting healing, remember this:

1. LOOK FOR JESUS. He has a way of showing up right where he’s needed most. Don’t forget how desperately you need him. Your situation may feel hopeless, but you are never beyond his reach!

2. WANT TO BE WELL. His restoration is far better than settling for pity, handouts, or a lifetime of excuses. Don’t let the enemy convince you to make a home in the very place Jesus wants to heal you. You were made for more than surviving beside the pool!

3. TAKE THE FIRST STEP IN FAITH. You likely won’t feel different when Jesus tells you to get up. Your circumstances may not look different yet, and you may not feel ready. But faith doesn’t wait until you feel strong enough. Faith takes Jesus at his word and moves! When he says, “Get up,” you get up. When he says, “Pick up your mat,” you pick it up. Your healing may begin with a step you don’t feel ready to take, but you take it anyway because Jesus said so.

4. INCREASE IN THE WAIT. Don’t put your life on hold while you’re waiting for God to move. Build the house. Plant the garden. Make the memories. Laugh with your people. Look for beauty. Keep dreaming. Keep serving. Keep living! Your miracle is not the only good thing God has for you, and your unanswered prayer is not permission to stop living the life he’s given you. You can be waiting for God to change your circumstances while allowing him to change YOU in the waiting. Don’t spend so much time watching the pool that you forget to live.

This is your one precious life, sister. And even here, even now, even while you’re waiting, there is still so much GOOD to be found, so much JOY to be experienced, and so much LIFE to be lived. Increase, don’t decrease!

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