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  • The Promised Land of Wait Gain

    The Promised Land of Wait Gain

    I have lived for over 40 years in the desert. The dry land of diets and weight-loss programs and tips and tactics and shame and binges and self-hate and deprivation. I have been obsessed with the latest diet fad. I have disdained my image in the mirror. I have lived with constant thoughts about me…my weight…my body…my size….what I ate….what I would eat….why I ate it…

    I have been in bondage to these issues that have robbed me of the abundant life that Jesus promises me in John 10:10: The thief comes only to kill and steal and destroy. I have come that they might have life abundantly!

    I have lived in the realm of the thief. My potential and purpose and freedom murdered. My joy stolen. My peace destroyed.

    And yet I’ve heard God’s voice anew in the desert, calling from a quiet and gentle place. I’ve discovered God’s overwhelming love and kindness toward me. Something that the thief had obscured with lies.

    And I’ve journeyed toward freedom–toward the Promised Land.

    Surprisingly, this Promised Land isn’t weight loss. It’s wait gain. And it’s so much more than what I have sought for 40 years.

     

  • Embrace the Wait Gain of the Journey

    Embrace the Wait Gain of the Journey

    Waiting for hunger is a tutor to teach us to wait for God. What a gift to learn this important discipline through the thing we’ve struggled with for a lifetime. God doesn’t waste any part of our suffering. He redeems it for good–always.

    I almost called my blog Wait Gain–meaning that we gain so much by learning to wait…to wait for real hunger…to wait for God to free us…to wait for God.

    “My soul waits for the Lord more than the watchmen for the morning; 

    indeed, more than the watchmen for the morning.” 

    Psalm 130:6

    Imagine the watchmen’s longing for their night shift to be over…for the sun to rise so they can see clearly.

    I imagine them straining their eyes to search for the light. Every muscle has been tensed on high alert on their watch. At the sound of any noise, they’ve been ready to jump into action.

    The promise of the rising sun means rest and peace. The dawn signals that they can entrust their shift to the next watchman…and the sleep.

    The watchmen can do nothing to hasten the dawn…they must simply wait.

    What does patient waiting look like?

    When I am waiting patiently, I am content in my circumstances. I have no frustration or anger. I am not looking at the time constantly, pacing back and forth.

    Psalm 40 speaks to this.

    Psalm 40:1–Wait patiently for the Lord. This is to be bound up with God and the promise is that He will lean down and listen to me. So I must wait and talk with Him. Am I content and at peace?

    Psalm 40:2–He is giving me a solid foundation to stand on. I can trust. Am I trusting God?

    Psalm 40:3–The result is praise in my heart and others are impacted so they see, fear, and trust in the Lord. This is the result of God’s work. Is my heart filled with praise?

    Psalm 40:4–Continue to trust in God’s ways and I will be blessed. Don’t turn to others for answers–the proud and liars. Am I seeking answers from others instead of God?

    Psalm 40:5–God does wonders and He thinks about me!

    Psalm 40:6–“My ears you have opened.” I love this! Ozen–ear in the Old Testament represents hearing and obedience. So God has opened my ears to hear (understand) and obey. Am I obeying God?

    Psalm 40:7-8–Delight to do God’s will and put His law in my heart. Is this true of me?

    This is how we wait patiently for the Lord!

    Yes, we wait for hunger…but our wait gain is that we’re learning to wait for God.

  • It’s Time to Get Back Up!

    It’s Time to Get Back Up!

    I had a few rough days. I thought something amazing was going to happen and it didn’t. I built up my hope and expectations and then was crushed when it didn’t happen. I sobbed like a baby.

    Proverbs 13:12 says “delayed hope makes the heart sick.” My heart was sick! I tried not to shake my fist at God but I did ask, “Where is my rescue?”

    No answer.

    So even though I knew I should crawl up into God’s lap and let Him soothe my emotions, I turned to cookie dough instead. That’s what I had for dinner that night–cookie dough and cookies. Mainly cookie dough.

    I didn’t even try to sense the very quiet and sweet voice of the Holy Spirit. I said, “nope, I’m eating cookie dough” through my tears. There, God!

    I did the same thing the next day. Cookie dough for dinner. I was feeding my emotions.

    And then the next morning as I awoke, I heard the Holy Spirit’s voice so clearly in my spirit–“This is not a real problem.”

    No one had died. I still had a job. Our house wasn’t in foreclosure. Those are real problems.

    The Holy Spirit gently did what cookie dough wasn’t able to do. He spoke to my heart and healed my hurt. He gave me a holy perspective and peace returned.

    Anyone want to say Alleluia?

    “Though a righteous man falls seven times, he will get up, but the wicked will stumble into ruin.” Proverbs 24:16

    In the past, I would’ve stumbled into ruin. I would’ve binged and punished myself for “breaking my diet.” I would’ve been “off the wagon” for weeks. Then I would’ve willed myself to get back on my diet and do better. (Lather, rinse, repeat!)

    But here’s where God has me in this incredible journey–and where He wants all of us. He spoke to me in my pain and wooed me back to Himself.

    Honestly, I’m not craving cookie dough today; I’m craving God’s gentle voice in my life. I want more of Him. I want to hear the Holy Spirit’s voice to guide and comfort me.

    I crave more of God! (This is a work that God has done in me! And I’m grateful!)

    “Though a righteous man falls seven times, he will get up, but the wicked will stumble into ruin.” Proverbs 24:16

    If, like me, you’ve fallen…it’s time to get up.

    And to get up, we must want what God wants more than what we want. It’s not about the weight, the diet, the scale. It’s about a closer walk with God, learning to hear His sweet voice daily.

    I’ll say Alleluia myself!

    Alleluia!