"But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength..." Isaiah 40:31
Are you in a season of waiting? Waiting for a breakthrough, for a long-awaited child, for a future spouse, for a prodigal son to return home, for a place where you can settle, a home, a community, waiting for the manifestation of your healing, for financial provision, waiting for forgiveness, for restoration, for reconciliation? Maybe you’re waiting for God’s instruction that will lead you to an open door into the calling and purpose that makes up the very fabric of your life! Waiting.
Waiting is part and parcel of the Christian’s life and it is mostly a difficult thing to accept and to navigate through, as it is usually tied up with a silent season, where God’s voice seems distant and His presence far from us.
Have you ever felt that as you follow in His footsteps, the leading of the Holy Spirit will come to a point where He is so far ahead from you that you don’t seem to see Him anymore? His presence has been engulfed in a sea of mist that turns into a thick cloud which hides not only Him but also the very trail He is blazing. All of a sudden, you have to trust that the compass He has given you (the vision/the promise) is true and that it will lead you through the fog and break into the sunlight—the fulfillment of His promise! What a joy it will be to see His beaming, smiling face once again! To feel His presence, to discover His path clearly and to realize that He was there all along, even though you couldn’t see.
In times of waiting, when the season is long and it threatens to steal the zeal and belief in His words of promise, when everything is foggy and the path is hard to see, you have to continue trusting Him and to keep going through. When you can’t see Him, you need to keep your eyes fixed on His Word! (Psalm 119:105).
When Fraser and I were living in South Africa, we used to love going down to the coast in Durban. The sound of the roaring Indian Ocean and the breathtaking view from our balcony over at the African Peninsula was like a balsam to our souls. This spot holds a special place in our hearts—this is where Fraser pulled the beckoning ring out of his pocket and asked me the most anticipated question a woman could ever dream of— “Will you marry me?” And with the beautiful African sun rising over the majestic sea, I overwhelmingly said— “Yes!”
Oh, the overwhelming joy that is set before us! — if we will just determine to go through the fog!
On our six-hour drive down to the coast from the dry heat of Johannesburg, we would take in the wonderful ever-changing scenic view, as we would make our way down into lower and lower altitude. As we approached the KwaZulu-Natal midlands and the mid-altitude area of the Province, we would enter the infamous mist belt and its thick cloud of engulfing fog. It was a bit daunting to say the least, to drive on without being able to see what was ahead of us! I trusted in Fraser and his ability to navigate us through and into the sun break.
I remember Fraser vividly explaining to me that the one thing you must never do when driving through fog, is to stop on the road! It’s a natural reaction that one must resist. Slow down, but don’t stop!
Wow! What a great analogy it is for the waiting disciple that finds him or herself in the slow foggy lane of the road that leads down to breakthrough! — Don’t stop!
Don’t stop believing, don’t stop trusting, don’t stop praying, don’t stop moving forward just because you can’t see! He is there, in the “promised land”, just past the foggy midlands.
This is where many a Christian give up on their walk as a disciple of Christ. They allow the overwhelming difficulty of the waiting season and of the unknown to grip them with fear, resentment, bitterness, and great disappointment. They stop on the road, they sit and wait for the fog to lift, and instead of breakthrough they experience a catastrophic crash. Their natural reaction (that of the flesh) to stop and sit while they wait, leads them to not only a complete halt but a potential collision with fatal results—the loss of not only their God-given vision, calling and purpose here on earth but of their future inheritance, reward and everlasting crown. — Don’t stop!
I want to encourage you with the words of the prophet Isaiah,
But those who wait on the Lord
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.
(Isaiah 40:31)
The only way to get through the fog, to get through the God-appointed waiting seasons, is not to give up and stop halfway, but to keep walking (you will not faint; Matthew 11:28-30), to keep running (you will not be weary beyond what you are able to bear; 1 Corinthians 10:13).
Many just stop and wait, in an attitude of resignation. Others fail to see that the waiting seasons, the foggy patches of life which limit our divine visibility, are God’s appointed tests that lead to maturity and growth within His Kingdom. Yet others don’t realize that the foggy season of life is actually keeping them safe in a dense cloud of protection from potential distractions that could otherwise lead them astray and far from His divinely appointed purpose and destination.
I encourage you to read Fraser’s teachings on “The Divine Experiment” and “The Supernatural Church” so that you can gain a deeper understanding of the test you find yourself currently in, to fully understand what is at stake, and to clearly realize the revelation of the joy that is truly set before you!
Abraham, the father of our faith, waited for the promise of the nations and looked forward to the eternal City;
Sarah, waited for the promised son;
Hannah, Rachel, Elizabeth and many others joined Sarah in their barren state;
Joseph waited for his freedom;
Moses, Caleb and Joshua waited for the promised land;
Job waited for his healing and restoration;
David waited to become king in his rightful kingdom!
What are you waiting for?
There are so many examples of great men and women of God who, despite the difficulty of their immediate season and not being able to clearly comprehend God’s ways, continued to wait by moving forward according to the God-given promise. It seems like it’s an oxymoron, to wait by moving forward. But just as you go through the fog not by stopping in the middle of the road, but by slowly driving on through, you must continue to trust Him and to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit by holding on to the call, the vision, the promise you were given. Then and only then, will you also come forth as gold (Job 23:10), after passing the testing season, and join the many who are also running for an imperishable crown (1 Corinthians 9:25).
Just as I trusted Fraser’s ability to navigate us through the foggy midlands, allow the Holy Spirit to be the driver of your life and to lead you through and into your promised land, and ultimately into inheriting His everlasting Kingdom. And just as the brilliant sun breaks forth after the dark and heavy mist, finally the majestic Son will break forth and say to you the most wonderful and long-awaited words, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your lord!” (Matthew 25:23).
If we had not gone through the infamous fog in the midlands of KwaZulu-Natal, and the testing road, I would have never known the joy of being proposed to in what I find to be one my most favorite places in the world. I would have completely missed out and never seen the sun rising over the roaring sea.
Don’t miss out on what God has prepared for you! Hold on to the God-given dream, the vision, the call! He has prepared the most majestic “marriage proposal” for you!
Again, I say, Oh the joy that is set before you!
If you just keep waiting and keep going through!
We were like those who dream.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
And our tongue with singing.
Then they said among the nations,
“The Lord has done great things for them.”
(Psalm 126:1-2)
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