A little breathing room

God, the one and only— I’ll wait as long as he says. Everything I need comes from him, so why not? He’s solid rock under my feet, breathing room for my soul, an impregnable castle: I’m set for life. (Psalm 62:1 MSG)

Waiting doesn't come easy for some of us. To those of you who are waiting, perhaps for a lot longer than you might have imagined you'd wait, let me say this - God isn't finished yet, so hold on! There are times when God says it is going to take some time for the fulfillment of your prayers. We don't want to hear those words because we know something else has to occur BEFORE then. It is the 'in between' that we dread the most, isn't it? We don't like the 'what else needs to occur' phase, do we? The 'what else' could be the readying of our heart to receive the answer God will bring. It could be he needs to see another's heart be made ready. Readiness comes in stages - it doesn't always happen just because we want it to. I wanted to run alongside a friend who used to jog each morning. I thought getting a few things together such as running shoes, shorts, and a breathable t-shirt would be all the 'readiness' I needed. Boy was I ever wrong! I forgot how out of shape I was! I didn't prepare my body - just my attire!

I needed some stretching, strengthening exercises, and a bit of a change in the way I ate. After I did all of that, I was 'ready' to run, but I still didn't run at the pace of my friend. She had been running for quite a while, and I was just beginning again. Sometimes it takes us a little longer to 'get up to speed' with what God wants to do in our lives, doesn't it? In that moment, we want to be 'running' when all we can manage is a bit of a fast-paced walk! The 'in between' phase isn't ever to be overlooked or thought of as 'not all that important'. Life will come at us while we are waiting, but we don't have to be afraid of the 'in between' phase of our waiting for God is accomplishing something in us or around us that we might not have ever realized needed to be done. The 'pace setter' is Jesus, and he is well aware that we need some work done before we are ready to keep the pace that next phase of life will require of us. We don't always know how he is preparing us while we wait, but each time I have looked back in my own life at that 'waiting phase', I have observed exactly what he did in me or around me that would not have been that way without the wait. 

How about you? Are you in that 'in between' phase with what God has begun within you, but still not seeing it completed? If so, hold on, buckle down, do as he says, and remember EVERYTHING you need comes from him! He won't let you down - he is giving your soul a little breathing room to adjust to the change that is just around the corner. Just sayin!