The Beach Is Calling: A 10 Day Plan for Rest and RelaxationSample

The Gift in the Wait

Rest in the Lord; wait patiently for Him to act. PSALM 37:7 TLB

Resting while we’re waiting doesn’t sound like the best use of our time. There must be something we can do to hurry things along, right? This isn’t waiting in line at a drive-through, waiting to be seen at the dentist’s office, or waiting for the oven to preheat. This is waiting while God works all things together for good. This is waiting to see the promises of God come to fruition in our lives. This is waiting for God to act while staying confident, courageous, and humble. God is working in our lives every single day, but there are lots of days that require us to wait quietly and thankfully until His plan comes together. In fact, those days are collectively referred to as “seasons” by wise souls who’ve spent a lifetime serving God.

The resting He asks us to do is trusting that He will do—what is most loving, what is most glorifying, and what matures us most spiritually. Knowing God more leads to growing us more. The abundant life He has for us isn’t about possessions or position. It isn’t measured by social media influence, number of likes, or how much traffic a website gets in a day.

The real abundance in life comes when we discover He is all we need. We rise in the wait, not the arrival. Dreams—God-orchestrated dreams—are coming. They’re going to be more than we hoped for.

But through the long days of waking up with a still-aching heart, when nothing is happening in the natural and it feels like God has turned His back on us, in truth, He’s drawing us closer to His side. We’re learning to lean on the promises of heaven no matter what we see or how long it takes. We’re learning to draw from God’s strength and stand in His presence. During the wait we reach the highest place we’ll ever be by seeing that our heart’s desire is never the dream we have, but Him.

Father, I won’t give up on the promises You’ve given. Reveal to me the things I need to learn and the ways I need to grow while I wait for the good things coming. I believe they’ll be more than I imagined.