I am a planner and I don’t like surprises and therefore “waiting on the Lord” is a process I have learned to trust in spite of my natural tendencies.  Let me share with you a story and How I Learned To Have Peace In The Midst of Uncertainty.

PEACE IN ECONOMIC UNCERTAINTY

If you have never read my book “Faith and Finance – Peace With Or Without Prosperity” it tells of the story of our struggle in the 2008 downturn where my husband was on unemployment, our student loan was looming and I had just become a full time stay-at-home mom.  I had promised God, “If you pay our mortgage without us going into a credit line to do so, I will write down every single way you miraculously provided and give you the glory.”

From that point on I learned a lot about peace.  If you are struggling in the area of finances, it is an encouraging read and really focuses on your walk with the Lord during those times.  But this post is going to be more about life changes and God’s unseen hand.

PEACE WHEN GOD SEEMS SILENT

During the housing bubble of 2007 burst, we found ourselves extremely upside down in our home.  It was worth about 45% of what we owed.  It was such a neat little starter home.  It had everything we needed for a growing family of four … then five … then six … and then surprise … seven.  By then, that one bathroom in the house was filled to the max on Sunday mornings while I braided hair and brushed teeth.  There was never a moment when someone could say, “Come back later, I am in the shower.”

While friends were able to take advantage of the lower cost of housing and get larger homes, God seemed to say, “This house meets your needs.  Are you able to be content?”  And then nothing.  We were just “going on our last orders” of being faithful and paying our bills by faith.

PEACE WHEN GOD IS TEACHING

Fast forward 9 years (which is a long time when you are waiting) and Rick was replacing a roof himself, running a seasonal business, working a full-time job, and filling in part time on Saturdays for a local company.  We were exhausted and tapped out.  Yet, this was how God was providing.  Who were we to complain?  We had never had a late bill and our family had doubled.

Then out of nowhere, I checked our home value and we were no longer upside down.  I asked, “Rick?  Would you move if we could?”  He was plain worn out and new it would take quite a few late nights to get our home ready to sell, and God would really have to show up for everything to work out.

Let me tell you, I learned some lessons in that next few months that are what inspired this post.  I learned what A.W. Tozer meant by, “How completely satisfying to turn from our limitations to a God Who has none.”

PEACE WHEN NOTHING IS IN YOUR CONTROL

You know, I drove around our city looking at different locations and trying to figure out what we could afford and to be honest it wasn’t looking very good.  Not only that but we were definitely in a seller’s market and homes were being snatched up left and right.

I just prayed for the Lord’s will.  I turned to James 1:5 and prayed for wisdom and claimed His promise to give it.  I clung to Proverbs 3:5,6 and reminded God that He said that He would lead us if we acknowledged Him for direction in every little thing.

If you know me, you know that I do not rest patiently very well.  I want to move.  I want to research.  I want to ‘find a way’ and ‘make a way’ and I want communication about what is going on as soon as possible.  Yet, here I was again utterly reliant on God to do everything.  I don’t know why days feel like months when you are waiting for things to happen, but that is how it felt.

Would anyone want to buy our little home with one bathroom and no garage?

Would we be able to afford anything bigger than our existing home?

What compromises would we have to make?

OH!  I am so thankful for the promises in God’s Word.  Those promises are a solid rock on which we can rest in times of uncertainty.

PEACE FROM PAST EXPERIENCES

Well, here we are and it has been a year since we purchased our new home.  You won’t believe it (or maybe you will), but it is in the exact location I had desired.  The day someone put an offer on our house, this one came on the market and I sent an email to our realtor with three different house options and next to this one it said, “This one meets all our needs.” 

It was a little out of our price range, but we put a wee bit lower of an offer on this house and then the biggest snow storm our area had seen in years happened.  No one could get out of their driveways to look at houses or make a better offer and so they accepted ours.  Then due to the snow storm and the drop in the market that month, the house appraised for lower than the asking price and ended up just within our budget.

I knew God was faithful.  He had always provided, and yet it still took daily effort to rest in Him.

PEACE IN NEW EXPERIENCES

You know that verse that says that tribulations worketh patience, and then patience, experience and then experience brings hope:”? This is a testimony of that truth.   “How I Learned To Have Peace In The Midst of Uncertainty.”

Romans 5:1-4, “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: 2By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; 4And patience, experience; and experience, hope: 5And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.” 

I am sure that you have your own experiences and testimonies of God’s goodness and faithfulness.  You see, my faith grows with every new experience and as my faith grows so does my peace.  It comes more quickly.  God reveals new passages of Scripture that reveal His power and foreknowledge.  I am building quite the armory of spiritual defenses against fiery darts.

“Trusting God” isn’t just something people say.  It is something that people who know God and His word can actually DO.  

We see our weaknesses and we see God’s strength and we know there is only so much we can do.  Then we watch as day-by-day, He performs the miraculous through the weak.  He never seems in a hurry to give us a heads up.  He doesn’t seem the type to give us more than we need.  He certainly gives us more than we can handle on our own, but it is in that exact element that God receives the greatest glory.

Never give up on living by faith.

In fact, never give up on the race.  God is faithful and He will reward you for your faithfulness on that glorious day of rest.

Keep on Keeping On!

Melissa