Whitnee's journey with Christ

It had been almost two years ago when we were finally getting to a point where things were looking more promising! Phone calls were consistent, visits were getting back on schedule, toxic vibes were at bay, everything was all good. And then came the day all hell broke loose. It was the day my heart literally felt like it had been pulled from my chest by the one I loved oh so much. At the time I didn’t realize just what all God had in store as I waited patiently for Him to move.

I had told folks about the situation, asked for prayer, cried a good deal, even wrote about it a few times. I went through stages of sorrow, grief, depression, anger, confusion… I had so many questions, too many unanswered texts and/or calls, and then I moved from actively trying to rekindle things to just allowing God to handle it like only He could.

I’ll admit at first it was so hard. I wanted to put my hands in everything and do whatever I could to be in communication, get things back to how they used to be, and to feel what I used to feel. I didn’t like feeling helpless. I didn’t like loosing that bond, loosing the connection, and feeling like I had been used and then thrown away like garbage. Pure trash.

Days went by and still no calls or texts. Months went by and before you know it, we were at the one year mark, and still nothing. By this time I had already realized only God could turn things around and no matter how much I wanted things to speed up; my timing was not His. (See scripture of the day)

Have any of you ever experienced a season of waiting? Have you ever had to endure any type of suffering, pain or affliction that you couldn’t help but count every second, minute, hour, and day hoping for the day it would all end? How did you get by? What provided peace? How did you cope? Please provide any helpful tips, scriptures that helped you during this time, prayers, or words of encouragement that could help someone who is currently in the season of waiting or just to keep in mind should they ever face such difficulties.

One of my sweet friends would often remind me of Isaiah 40:31. She would ensure me that God heard my cries, He saw my tears, and that He would move this mountain in His timing. Although I knew it to be true it didn’t provide the comfort I was longing for. I was missing this person so bad. It’s as if they had died and I would never see them again but that wasn’t the case. I don’t know which one was harder: the person being alive but not wanting to have anything to do with me ever again in life or going on with life feeling the only way I would ever stop hurting it to let this person go.

My dad once said, “If you love someone you have to let them go. If they come then they will be yours forever, but if they don’t, they weren’t meant to be yours in the first place.” I’ve experienced that with boyfriends in the past but this was different. This was blood, this was my shadow, this was my “mini me.”

Time went on and although I didn’t talk about it, the memories never left. The pain subsided and God started to fill my emptiness. He became what I lacked. Through scripture, prayer, fasting, and hope I began to feel whole again even if that person was missing. I knew all I could do was love from afar but continue to pray. I knew one day the phone would ring, a message would come through, or something that would bring us back together.

That day was yesterday!!! It was the day the stars in the sky all aligned. It was the day of many unspoken requests, prayer burdens, sleepless nights, and tears that could all come to a halt. God had given me the desire of my heart through one phone call.

You see a few months ago I stopped praying a selfish prayer. I stopped praying for me but started praying and lifting up the head of the household. I put his desires, his needs, and his cares above my own. I saw his pain, his hurt, and his sorrow. I knew God had been working on the inside of me and brought me peace but I couldn’t help but shake this deep pain my better half had been experiencing. There was no store, no potion, no cure, no answer for his pain. The only thing that could help was to pray. And so I prayed, I prayed, and I prayed some more.

Y’all don’t know how much relief and joy I received on yesterday. I was awoken by the phone call but I’m so happy that I was able to answer and that I had the heart to receive what was spoken on yesterday. I didn’t let emotion, pain, or anger stop what God allowed to happen.

I pray todays message has been a source of encouragement to those reading. You or someone you may know may be in the season of waiting and you feel like God is not listening or He is not working on your behalf. Rest assured He is working! Rest assured He has heard your plea! You have to believe. You have to praise Him and cast the feelings of doubt into the sea.

Today I want you to have peace knowing that God is the answer. We need to have peace knowing He has already worked it out. He is not on our clock, our schedule, nor our timetable. He works and acts in His timing. The waiting is not to irritate us but to help strengthen our dependence on Him. I can admit in my season of waiting I have learned to count on Him 100000000 percent. I had no choice, I didn’t come to this understanding willingly; I admit I was hard headed. I wanted control because I was scared. I gave it all to Him.

Today I want to bring a sense of peace while you wait on the Lord. Be of good courage and wait on Him. It won’t be in vain. There is a gospel song that says, “I don’t mind waiting, I don’t mind waiting, I don’t mind waiting on the Lord.” My brothers and sisters do you mind waiting on the Lord? Have you been asking God for something for a while and He still hasn’t responded? Keep on waiting and keep on waiting. God is faithful! He is just! His is gracious! He is merciful! I challenge you to deepen your trust in the Lord while you wait. God has not failed you and He won’t fail. He can change things in the blink of an eye. Remember that the next time you ask the Lord “how long!”

Instead of asking “Lord how long”, let’s ask God for the strength to endure, the wisdom to grow in faith, the patience and understanding, joy while waiting, and total reliance on God. The rewards are remarkable and the yield is out of this world. Trust God and His timing.