They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength: Guest Post by Dana Rongione

Today's guest post is from Dana Rongione who blogs at A Word Fitly Spoken

Why Wait?

But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. - Isaiah 40:31 KJV

Without a doubt, Isaiah 40:31 is probably one of the most famous verses of all time. It is quoted in books and from pulpits. It accompanies pictures on artwork and decorations. For it is a passage that offers hope, encouragement and strength. But within that promise is a condition, a contingency upon which the completion of this promise hinges. And at the center of that condition is a four-letter word that causes my knees to shake and heart to quicken—WAIT.

You see, what we often fail to realize is that this promise of strength and stamina is not given to all, but to those that wait upon the Lord. We tend to see the part of the verse that we like and ignore the part we don't. But in this case, the part that makes us cringe cannot be ignored, for it is the subject of the verse, the center of the promise.

In a way, the verse reminds me of the old saying, “Good things come to those who wait.” Certainly, the things promised in Isaiah are good things. But who wants to wait? With express lanes, drive-thrus and automatic downloads, we are not accustomed to waiting. We want things when we want them, and that means NOW. How often we forget that God's timing is not our timing? I've been reminded of this truth many times in my life, but never more so than when I felt the need to make a change in my career.

After eight years of teaching kindergarten, I was burned out. The days no longer held joy. I dreaded meetings with parents, the never-ending graduation practices and most of all, facing a colleague who had lied about me and gotten me into great trouble with the administration. Each day, it became harder to get out of bed and plaster a smile on my face. I was miserable and sensed that God was trying to tell me something.

Since the majority of my discontentment revolved around my job, I naturally assumed that God was trying to move me to teach in another location. The thought of leaving the security of my present job was terrifying, but no more so than remaining in my state of despair. I contacted schools and sent out resumes, but nothing happened. As time passed, I grew more nervous and agitated, but then I began to pick up on something. There was a common theme running through every song I heard, every sermon that was preached and every devotion that I read. The theme was “wait.”

After a particularly difficult week, my husband and I stayed after church and spoke with our pastor. I told him how I had been feeling. I relayed how I had thought that God was trying to move me, but that every move I made was countered with the reminder to wait. I asked him to help us pray that God would make His will known and that we would understand His directions when the time came. That same evening, we had a guest preacher at our church. As he began preaching on waiting, my pastor turned around to look at me. We shared a laugh.

My waiting was not over. In fact, it was another year before the Lord finally revealed His true plan. At that time, after much prayer, I left my teaching job to pursue my writing ministry. Had I made a change when I first felt the stirrings of my heart, I would have simply moved to another place of teaching. I would have never imagined that God would have called me to do anything else. And to be honest, if He had called me away then, I don't know that I would have been spiritually mature enough to have obeyed.

I grew a lot during that time of waiting. It was difficult and uncomfortable, but God knew it was something I needed. He used that time of waiting to mold me and make me into what I needed to be in order to take the next steps He had for my life. Waiting time is not wasting time.

Now, when God tells me to wait for something, I try to remind myself of what God can do with me in the stillness. I try to put my impatience aside and instead focus on my longing to become more of what God wants me to be. It doesn't make it easy, but it does make the waiting bearable.

Dana introduces herself:

"Having been a Christian for nearly 28 years, Dana knows what it is like to experience both joy in the journey and weariness in well-doing. Currently self-employed as a writer and speaker, she struggles (like many other women) to balance the demands of work, family, church, health, chores, etc.

Dana specializes in writing devotionals that will encourage and uplift the weak and weary Christian. Her blog, A Word Fitly Spoken, is currently read in over 15 different countries, allowing her the opportunity to spread the message of hope and joy throughout the world.

Her most recent book, Random Ramblings of a Raving Redhead, will take you on a journey of personal experience combined with heartfelt encouragement and fun-filled observations intended to lift your spirit, lighten your load, and comfort your heart.

You can find out more about Dana and her ministry by visiting her website at DanaRongione.com."

Thank you, Dana!!