10 Years of Waiting
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Romans 12:1-2
Yes, I needed to be trained and transformed through God’s word. Along with studying the Bible, prayer and fellowship with other believers came 10 plus years of waiting. Why waiting?
Waiting is one of God’s biggest tools of training. It was like 10 years of Christian boot camp with lipstick. During this time, I learned to lean on and into Jesus as the only one I could rely on. He pulled everyone out of my life who would interfere with His plan in training me to be His soldier dependent on Him, the Mighty One. In 2 Timothy 2:3-4 it states, “Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.”
A. 2 Timothy 2:3 : 2 Tim 1:8
B. 2 Timothy 2:3 : 1 Cor 9:7; 1 Tim 1:18
C. 2 Timothy 2:3 : 2 Tim 1:1
D. 2 Timothy 2:4 : 2 Pet 2:20
When I read God’s Word I see “waiting” was used in most of His servant’s lives in order to prepare them for what God had planned to do with them and for them. Moses lived in the desert for 40 years as a shepherd, before God called him to confront Pharaoh, and lead God’s people out of slavery. David ran from Saul for 13 years, as he waited for God’s anointing to be King of Israel, hiding in caves as King Saul sought to kill him. After Paul was blinded for several days he went into complete solitude, silence, and obscurity in the barren wilderness of Arabia for 3 years as he was being prepared to go out into all the nations to share that Jesus is the Messiah I am relieved my waiting wasn’t as severe as these great saints, but the truth is I felt as if it were. Waiting for God’s choice in a mate ten plus years can be brutal to the wanting heart. But you know, as hard as it was, and as much as I hated it, knowing what I know now… I’d do it all over again. When I began waiting for God’s choice for me, He didn’t let me in on the fact it would be close to an eleven-year wait. I think I would have failed had I known. I was committed to following after God’s will for my life as the Lord set the course of waiting. He knew I needed those eleven years to teach me to die to myself, my flesh, my wants, my desires, my dreams, my, my, my-to His, His, His. The Lord wanted me ALONE in order to truly know Him, love Him, let go and give everything to Him. Once my Abba Father had broken me of self, He then delivered me. In 2 Corinthians 1:8-10, it states, “…we were under great pressure, …so that we despaired even of life… but this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead, who delivered us… in whom we trust that He will still deliver us.