Breathe, Pray, and Have a Little Faith

 Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him  -Psalm 37:7

This has become one of many Bible verses that I find myself saying over and over every single day. I even wrote it on little post it notes and stuck them all over my house. Simply put "rest in the Lord" means to be silent or still and listen to God; leaving all your problems with him without worrying about the result. "Wait patiently for Him" is exactly what it says.. wait on God to work things out with patience, faith, and confidence.

Patience is not my strength, it never has been. I'm somebody, like many people, who wants what I want when I want it. I think the way our world has become we just continue to breed impatience. We all want fast results with the least amount of work involved. People seem to rush around, going through fast food windows, passing cars on the interstate, huffing and puffing when they have to stop for a train or a red light, fighting for the shortest lines in the grocery stores... nobody wants to stop and just be in the moment. I admit I'm totally guilty of it. I will get in the express line at Walmart, the one that's like 15 items or less, and count the stuff in the cart of the person in front of me. If I count 16 you better believe I call them out on it! When I think about it, that's pretty ridiculous.


This also applies to waiting on God's timing in our everyday life. Not only does the Bible tell us that patience is the fruit of the spirit, but it also shows faith in God's ability to carry out His promises. When we attempt to control everything in our lives, we are essentially telling God that He is incapable of handling things and that we know better than He does. I'll be the first to admit that I am a control freak! I have an obsessive-compulsive personality, I'm very much type-A, and I'm extremely demanding! How does this work for me? It doesn't!!!! I've always considered myself someone of true faith when it comes to believing that God is in control. I DO believe that God is in control, but my constant worrying shows otherwise. Lately I've been learning that sometimes I just have to take a deep breath, pray, and remind myself that everything is already taken care of. God is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.. He already knows what my future holds and He has promised me that He'd never leave me or forsake me as I make my journey through life. Looking back on the 30 years I've been in this world, He has NEVER failed to provide or take care of me. So why should I ever doubt Him?

Many times we think God should just give us what we want immediately because we pray for it. If it's His will that we have it right away, I think He supplies our needs promptly. But oftentimes we find that His responses to our requests don't show up exactly when we want them to. We may pray over and over, continuously asking for answers or solutions to our problems, only to get nothing but silence. Does this mean God isn't listening or that He doesn't care? Absolutely not! 1 Peter 5:7 says to give all your worries to Him because He cares for you. God loves us more than we could ever comprehend and He wants nothing more than for us to be happy. I'm learning that sometimes He delays giving us the things we want because maybe we aren't ready for it. Maybe He wants us to grow in our faith, or maybe waiting will increase our desire so that we appreciate things more, or maybe there are other things in our lives that He's working out before He gives us what we desire. We just have to "rest" in Him and trust that He will not only meet our needs, but bless us with far more than we ever imagined.

I have a lot going on in my life right now and worry seems to come pretty easily for me. I pray everyday that God will take my anxiety and replace it with peace in knowing that He is in the driver's seat. I'm constantly being reminded to wait on Him, knowing that when He sees fit all my heart's desires will be satisfied. The more I study His word and read His promises, the more He proves His faithfulness. Instead of trying to control everything, I'm learning to just breathe, pray, and have a little faith :)