Wait for the LORD; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the LORD. – Psalm 27:14
My son is always begging me to take him to the Science Museum. For months he has been asking if we could go to the science museum. Month after month, he pleaded his case.
The morning finally arrived. As he headed to his room to dress for the day, I casually said over my shoulder, “Oh, by the way, we are going to the science museum today.”
My announcement thrilled him. I could see the excitement and anticipation in his eyes throughout the morning and on the drive to the museum. His heart, I imagine, was racing with expectancy the whole way.
His fun-filled, delightful day at the museum was everything he hoped it would be and more. He explored and soaked in everything he possibly could.
His day of fun and goodness was largely connected to his obedience and patience.
I did not unleash him into the museum to explore everything on his own. I set parameters for him. As I gained trust in his obedience, his parameters grew. When he was ready to explore beyond his parameters, (usually after some reminders) he was patient to wait until we could move there together. He was able to see and do so much more, because he chose to trust me and my plans for him.
A heart of hurriedness and disobedience would have resulted in a much different experience for him. It might have left him leaving the museum earlier or not being able to see as many exhibits. It would have probably robbed him of the joy that was to be found in all the discoveries. A heart bent to his own will and desires would have been disastrous and left him disappointed and wanting.
Here is where I would like to draw the parallel.
Sometimes, God opens doors for us. In his infinite goodness and wisdom, He leads us on various roads and to various places. The problem lies when our hurried, impatient hearts drift away from Him and to our own desires the moment those doors open. We begin to step out of the parameters He has set before us. Beginning to explore and make decisions on our own, we unleash ourselves from His divine plan. Somewhere along the way, we forget to trust in our good Father. We forget that He works everything for our good and His glory.
Think of the story of Saul.
His hurried heart led to his disobedience. It led to him losing his place as king. God wanted a king whose heart delighted in Him and sought His own to reign over His people. He needed a heart that was patient, a heart that would obey.
I want to experience everything God has perfectly planned for me. I have often been the one whose heart was hurried. And somewhere along the way, I stop seeking guidance from the One who lays my path. I have lived the disappointments that come when I step out of His parameters and do things on my own. My heart is prone to wander and needs rescuing every day.
O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Robert Robinson (Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing)
Prayer for an Unhurried Heart
I pray for a heart of obedience. I also pray for an unhurried heart…a heart in tune with His. In every place He takes me, I want to walk there with Him. I want to enjoy the fullness of the life He has called me to, and I want to wait for Him in those moments where He asks me to wait. I pray that the worldly things which push me to hurry will not blind me to His sovereign plans.
May we all earnestly seek His direction and wait patiently for His leading. In all the places we are led to, may we always stay vigilant in keeping our heart’s desire after His. In the pursuit of kingdom work, let us not forget to seek and wait for the direction of the King.
A man must not stop listening any more than praying when he rises from his knees. No one questions the need of times of formal address to God, but few admit in any practical way the need of quiet waiting upon God, gazing into His face, feeling for His hand, listening for His voice.
I am an Oklahoman by birth, a Texan by current living situation, but claim the world as my playground.I love to travel and hope to someday soon take our family on adventures to far off lands, where we can share God with others and experience all the wonders He has created.
I am a mother of 5 crazy, homeschooling children ages 10 & under, wife to an amazing man, and daughter of the King of the Universe!I enjoy reading, making my kids laugh, cooking, all things natural, learning to play guitar and dusting off my piano skills.One day I hope to run again, but until then I’m learning patience.
5 years ago, I woke up in the middle of the night from a nightmare. A nightmare that eventually came true, but turned out to be a major blessing instead of a nightmare.
How did a nightmare turn into a blessing? Good question. I believe it only turned out that way because we were obedient to God’s calling!
It all started in the Summer of 2010
We came across a book called Walking with God by John Eldredge and it completely changed our prayer life. Between this book and scripture, we saw how God really wants us to pray. Instead of stating to God our plans and asking him to bless them or close the door, we started asking God what all he had planned and how to follow them. Once we started doing this, our life literally turned upside down and it has been an amazing ride.
December 2010
I woke up in the middle of the night convinced my husband didn’t have a job. It felt so real. My husband had to calm me down and convince me that he indeed had a job and nothing was on the horizon that he could see that would indicate otherwise.
January 2011
My husband came to me and said through prayer, he believed God wanted us to sell our house, get out of debt, and buy some land. It would be an understatement to say I was shocked by this. I was 5 months pregnant, we lived in the house we brought all our children home to and once we purchased this house, I did not plan on moving….obviously, my plan, not God’s.
I never intended to move from the house, we brought our kids home to, but God had different plans.
Ironically, for the previous 2 years God had been working on me in the area of submission. I wish I could say that I immediately agreed to submit to God’s plan but that didn’t happen. I actually fought it! I tried to convince my husband that God just wanted us to get our financial house in order instead of actually selling the house. Thankfully, my husband wasn’t convinced.
June 2011
I called my husband at work and let him know that a real estate agent would be coming that Friday to look at the house. Needless to say, he was shocked and this was our conversation:
My husband: “Why?”
Me:”You told me God told us to sell the house, right!?!
My husband: “Yes, but I never thought you would agree to it.”
Me: “I know. I’m sorry. She is coming on Friday.”
JULY 2011
With a 3 month old, a 2 year old & a 3 year old, our house officially went on the market on July 15. Within a week, we had a cash offer. with a stipulation…they wanted our dining room table and my clock collection.
I felt like someone punched me below the belt. First, I lose my house and now I’m supposed to give up the only thing I collect?!?
This first real big test of listening to God was an eye opening experience. We prayed about this cash offer and what we heard was not “yes” or “no” but “It doesn’t matter.” We truly didn’t understand what that meant until months later.
At the time, I came to terms with the fact that it truly didn’t matter. These were just things. Physical. God was calling us and even though I didn’t want to loose my stuff, I figured he had a good reason, if for nothing else to teach me to put Him first, so we agreed to the offer and then I cried. I never dreamed I could be so attached to stuff. It was heartbreaking from that realization alone, but I was thankful for God to help me realize it.
October 2011
Month after month went by and we kept getting excuses as to why the closing had to be pushed back. Then finally we learned that the couple did not actually have the cash in hand. They were waiting for a pay out they had not yet received.
It Didn’t Matter! God was so right that “It doesn’t matter,” because in the end that couple didn’t end up purchasing the house. Once the house was back on the market, we received another offer. This time they only wanted the house.
December 15, 2011
4 years ago today, we signed the paperwork and handed the keys to the house over to a wonderful couple. We were excited to see where God would lead us but truly had no idea where or when this would take place.
We did know that with less money tied up in a big house, we could pay off the debts we had been trying to pay off much faster.
We’re DEBT FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!
Summer & Fall of 2012
During the summer of 2012, using the Total Money Makeover plan, we paid off all our remaining debt, saved up 6 months of income (thanks to my husband’s bonuses), paid cash for a celebratory trip to Disney world & then did our debt free scream on the Dave Ramsey show.
By this time, God decided to challenge us in other areas of our lives too like where we were attending worship. We had never prayed about it and once we did, we realized, He again had a different plan than we did. Get all the amazing details to this story here.
Celebratory vacation to Disney World!
Fast forward a few years to 2015 – present
We now have four kids instead of three and we are officially land owners. We were able to purchase a piece of property that not only answered our prayers but also matched our pocketbook! The amazing part is we found the land in January, 4 years after my husband listened to God’s calling to sell our house, pay off debt and buy land!
We found a piece of land in January, 4 years after God told my husband to sell the house, pay off debt & buy land.
Then after changing companies due to divisions being sold or companies being acquired, my husband found himself without a position. It was the biggest blessing that could have happened.
If it hadn’t of been for the Holy Spirit urging us to sell our house almost 5 years ago, we would have been stuck in a nightmare situation with a big house payment and barely anything in savings. My husband would have been forced to take the first job that came along just to make the house payments or we would have had to sell the house and lots of stress would have been felt from many different angles. It would have been a nightmare situation instead of a blessing.
As it is, my husband has been able to care for his grandparents, who had some serious issues pop up this summer, find them the proper care they needed and take his time in finding a position that suited him best, one where he can glorify God most and use the talents God has given him to benefit the company too. We are still actively waiting on where God will place him but trust in His timing.
What a blessing!
Throughout this past 5 years our faith and trust in God has grown tremendously. We have learned to rely on His plans and not on our own. I’ve learned to submit to my husband and my God (the majority of the time) and because of our obedience we see his blessings in our life that we didn’t dream of 5 years ago.
Psalm 145 is what my heart has clung to during all these years:
The Lord is good to all;
he has compassion on all he has made.
All your works praise you, LORD;
your faithful people extol you.
They tell of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your might, so that all the people may know of your mighty acts and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations.
The LORD is trustworthy in all he promises
and faithful in all he does.
Psalm 145:9-13 (NIV)
How have you experienced God’s blessings because of your obedience?
Has he ever used something you feared to bring you closer to him in a glorious way?
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