Welcome to the Faith Deployed...Again online book club, Day 21! (Not sure what this is all about? Click here.) Today is our final day of book club!
In Your Book: Before we begin, please turn in your copy of Faith Deployed...Again to page 240 and read "Wait Training" by Kathy Guzzo. (If you don't have a book, don't go away! We'd love to have you join us for this discussion anyway!) This devotion and blog post fall under the "Blue Star Mom" category, but I'm sure military wives can also apply the truths found here. Now Let's Talk: Today's discussion is led by Kathy Guzzo. We're getting close to January, the month of resolutions and one topic we hear a lot about is losing weight and getting healthier. We’re told that to accomplish optimum health, we need to eat better, and exercise to increase our stamina, to tone our muscles and strengthen our hearts. Many people each year make this their goal. However, most of them don’t realize that a huge part of training is the waiting to see results. So when they don’t immediately see changes they tend to get discouraged. The same is true in our Christian lives. When God’s answer to our prayer is ‘wait’, we lose hope. We don’t want to hear that our unanswered prayers may be God training us, or that our faith will grow stronger because of the wait.
“Biblically, waiting is not just something we have to do until we get what we want. Waiting is part of the process of becoming what God wants us to be.”~ John Ortberg
When our son enlisted in the Marines, I had no idea that waiting would become part of the mixture of everyday emotions. It first became apparent during boot camp when I waited daily for contact from him. But I learned later that waiting was minimal compared to the waiting I endured when he was deployed. Because of his unit’s mission, we knew we wouldn’t have much contact with him but on his 2nd deployment, other than a quick email saying he had arrived, we had no contact with him at all for the first 53 days. It was agonizing. My heart needed more than just to know he was okay; I needed to hear his voice. During this time of silence I prayed earnestly, but God’s answer was ‘wait’. As I said in Wait Training when God’s answer is “wait”, I need to remember that waiting for God’s timing allows His perfect plan to fully develop and not be short circuited by impatience. I’ve always hated waiting so I had to choose to allow God to strengthen me while I painstakingly awaited news during my son’s deployments. I held on to God’s promises especially Isaiah 40:31 “They that wait upon the Lord will renew their strength, they will mount up with wings as eagles.” These words encouraged me when the waiting seemed overwhelming and I felt depleted of all energy. During those long days and even longer nights, I cried out to God from the depths of my soul. At first in the majority of my prayers I asked for peace, hope and the strength to endure the unknowns and uncertainties of my son’s deployment. Then gradually I noticed the focus of my prayers shifted to praising Him for who He is, and His plan for my life as well as my son’s Also, since I’m a visual learner, something I’ve always done is to write out Bible verses on sticky notes and put them in obvious places throughout the house. During my son’s enlistment I made sure the verses were focused on trusting Him. Reading and reciting these verses throughout the day helped me focus on Him. I realize now that both praying and meditating on verses were part of my training to increase my faith.
“If any are inclined to despond, because they do not have such patience, let them be of good courage. It is in the course of our feeble and very imperfect waiting that God Himself, by His hidden power, strengthens us and works out in us the patience of the great saints, the patience of Christ Himself.” ~ Andrew Murray
Possibly you’re a mom in a state of despair over life. You may feel you’re always waiting for God to answer your prayers. Not just your prayers for your child’s safety, but prayers for joy to replace despondency, hopes to replace fear, or your prayers relating to health and finances. Believe me, I’ve waited for answers to all of the above, and I assure you that He’s listening and because he loves you, he will answer your prayer in the way that he knows is best. You will eventually see that his answer will fulfill his perfect plan for your life as well as that of your military child. Allow your time of waiting to be your time to strengthen and train your heart, soul and mind to be closer to Him.
Psalm 27:14 “Wait for the Lord, be strong and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord.”
Discuss: In what area of your life are waiting for an answer from God? What training can or do you do to strengthen your faith to keep the waiting from overwhelming you? Share with us a Bible verse that helps you when God’s answer is ‘wait.’ Thank you all so much for joining us in the Faith Deployed...Again online book club! I hope you've been encouraged during these last several weeks. May you have a truly blessed Christmas!
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