This weekend I had the opportunity to spend some time with a sweet girl that God has connected me with recently. We were driving back from lunch on Saturday, sharing life stories, and in the midst of the conversation I said, "There's no waste in the wait." I don't really say such profound things, so I know that had to have come from the Holy Spirit, but it's always funny how you can be sharing something with someone else and yet I know God was sharing it with me just as much because it has lingered in my mind ever since. No waste in the wait.
It's wild when you think about that fact that every single person around you is in the midst of their own "season" right now. Maybe it's the best season they have ever been in, maybe it's the hardest. Maybe it's a season of dreams coming true or maybe it feels like a never-ending season of waiting - waiting for the perfect job, a spouse, pregnancy, the kids to leave the nest, this difficult season to be over, someone you love coming to know Jesus...any number of things. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that every single person, no matter what age or stage, is waiting on something. There's good news no matter how long, how hard, how painful the wait has been or may continue to be...
There's no waste in the wait.
In Ephesians 3 it says, "For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven." It goes on to talk about those seasons and the fact that we cannot see the scope of all that God has for us, but what I love most about this passage is that He's saying there is a time for everything. Meaning right now is a time for something.
Right now is not meant to be wasted.
To break it down a bit, let's go back to when I was 12 years old. I remember starting a new school that my oldest brother had already been attending and everyone talking about how smart my brother was. I remember thinking "I do not want to be the dumb Dubes" :). So although I wish I could say I retained every word the teacher said like my brother Nathan or graduated Valedictorian like my brother Ryan, I didn't. I studied hard, I got good grades, I graduated near the top of my class and ultimately was able to get some great scholarships that allowed me to attend an amazing university that ultimately prepared me for the job that I've had for the past 12 years. I remember, even at the age of 12, looking forward to going to college someday, but had I spent the 6 years between 6th grade and college just sitting back, killing time and not working hard, college probably wouldn't have happened. The career God has blessed me with wouldn't have been possible. Instead, I spent those years learning how to study, how to manage my time and be a good student.
Waiting isn't a passive sport.
Ask the Lord how you can live out each season intentionally. Even if it's a hard season, maybe if you spent time volunteering it would help lift your spirits and take your mind off of "you"? If you're waiting for the dream job, maybe God is just asking you to be faithful in the one that he's provided for you now - and that might be hard because you might really hate it! You never know what he might be teaching you in this job that might be incredibly beneficial in the next. Or maybe he's asking you to take classes to learn a new skill set so that you can move onto something different? Maybe you're desperately waiting for that child that you hope God brings you. That's so difficult, but maybe choose to look at it as an extended season of availability - offer to babysit for friends, serve in the church nursery, volunteer at the children's hospital. Surround yourself with babies! Think of the ways that you will be better equipped when God fulfills that dream in your own life, and the way that you are available to bless so many others in the meantime.
God doesn't waste anything. The bad choices, the good choices, the hard seasons, the good seasons. All of it can be used to glorify him, but it doesn't just happen haphazardly. Seek the Lord, ask for a game plan, let him lead your heart and open doors. I promise he'll do it and it will bless your socks off. You'll be blown away by how much FUN it is to serve God if you let him use you. He gave you the gifts and desires that are in your heart!
Nothing is wasted. Not even the wait.
It's wild when you think about that fact that every single person around you is in the midst of their own "season" right now. Maybe it's the best season they have ever been in, maybe it's the hardest. Maybe it's a season of dreams coming true or maybe it feels like a never-ending season of waiting - waiting for the perfect job, a spouse, pregnancy, the kids to leave the nest, this difficult season to be over, someone you love coming to know Jesus...any number of things. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that every single person, no matter what age or stage, is waiting on something. There's good news no matter how long, how hard, how painful the wait has been or may continue to be...
There's no waste in the wait.
In Ephesians 3 it says, "For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven." It goes on to talk about those seasons and the fact that we cannot see the scope of all that God has for us, but what I love most about this passage is that He's saying there is a time for everything. Meaning right now is a time for something.
Right now is not meant to be wasted.
To break it down a bit, let's go back to when I was 12 years old. I remember starting a new school that my oldest brother had already been attending and everyone talking about how smart my brother was. I remember thinking "I do not want to be the dumb Dubes" :). So although I wish I could say I retained every word the teacher said like my brother Nathan or graduated Valedictorian like my brother Ryan, I didn't. I studied hard, I got good grades, I graduated near the top of my class and ultimately was able to get some great scholarships that allowed me to attend an amazing university that ultimately prepared me for the job that I've had for the past 12 years. I remember, even at the age of 12, looking forward to going to college someday, but had I spent the 6 years between 6th grade and college just sitting back, killing time and not working hard, college probably wouldn't have happened. The career God has blessed me with wouldn't have been possible. Instead, I spent those years learning how to study, how to manage my time and be a good student.
Waiting isn't a passive sport.
Ask the Lord how you can live out each season intentionally. Even if it's a hard season, maybe if you spent time volunteering it would help lift your spirits and take your mind off of "you"? If you're waiting for the dream job, maybe God is just asking you to be faithful in the one that he's provided for you now - and that might be hard because you might really hate it! You never know what he might be teaching you in this job that might be incredibly beneficial in the next. Or maybe he's asking you to take classes to learn a new skill set so that you can move onto something different? Maybe you're desperately waiting for that child that you hope God brings you. That's so difficult, but maybe choose to look at it as an extended season of availability - offer to babysit for friends, serve in the church nursery, volunteer at the children's hospital. Surround yourself with babies! Think of the ways that you will be better equipped when God fulfills that dream in your own life, and the way that you are available to bless so many others in the meantime.
God doesn't waste anything. The bad choices, the good choices, the hard seasons, the good seasons. All of it can be used to glorify him, but it doesn't just happen haphazardly. Seek the Lord, ask for a game plan, let him lead your heart and open doors. I promise he'll do it and it will bless your socks off. You'll be blown away by how much FUN it is to serve God if you let him use you. He gave you the gifts and desires that are in your heart!
Nothing is wasted. Not even the wait.
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