All Things Skin, Wellness & Faith
All Things Skin, Wellness & Faith
BREADCRUMBS OF FAITH DEVOTIONAL 22: Transitioning Through Impatience Into Patience While Waiting On God
Have you ever felt like you're stuck in a season of waiting, unsure of when or if a breakthrough will come? Join me on this uplifting episode of All Things Skin Wellness and Faith as we explore the profound lessons of patience and trust in God's timing.
Reflecting on the stories of Sarai and Hannah, we uncover the challenges and spiritual growth that arise from standing firm in faith. Psalm 40:1-3, particularly in the Passion Translation, serves as our guide as we delve into the beauty of waiting on the Lord and the joy that follows His intervention.
I illustrate how God's perfect timing has manifested in my life, offering hope and encouragement for those going through difficult seasons. By leaning on His unchanging nature and holding onto His promises.
Hey, there, you're tuned into another episode of All Things Skin Wellness and Faith, a podcast where you'll learn simple ways to implement skin care and wellness techniques from a holistic approach. On this podcast, we'll explore practical ways to address skin health and overall holistic spiritual well-being, while deepening your faith. I'm your host, natasha Diaz, a licensed holistic esthetician, day spa owner and a faithful believer and follower of Christ, and it's time to get ready to get encouraged and empowered as we dive into all things skin wellness and faith. Hi guys, welcome back to this week's breadcrumb of faith by all things skin wellness and faith. Natasha here with another quick tidbit and encouraging word to help get you through your week.
Speaker 1:Today we are talking about patiently or impatiently waiting on the Lord, and today, where I want to come to you from, is just a place of, like I said, when you're waiting on the Lord and you're becoming just a little bit impatient. I know that many of us have had this situation and if you haven't had this situation, brace yourself, because it will be coming soon. The Lord likes to test us and likes to, you know, just kind of see where we're at in our faith walk, and it's very easy to sit there and see and say, yes, I love the Lord, I trust him, I believe in him, I have faith. Yada, yada. God is so good. But what do you do when you're in the midst of the fire? What do you do when you've been waiting and waiting and waiting for an answer? What do you do when you've been waiting and waiting and waiting for an answer? What do you do when you've been doing all the things you need to do You've been fasting, tithing, praying, reading, sewing, giving time, giving to the needy, you name it and the Lord just appears to be like he's not showing up. And you're just like, okay, god. You said, if I do this, I would be blessed. You said that you know, if I sought you, I would find you, but I am not seeing you. So what is going on? So these are times that can be, you know, somewhat difficult, and you know Lord really wants us to stand on his word. So that's the first thing that I'm going to reflect you back to, is to stand on your word, because, I mean, the Bible says so many different things about this. I mean, first of all, god is not a man, so he cannot lie. So the first thing you can rest assured of. If it's in that book, if it's in the Bible, if he said it, it's certainly going to come to pass. When is it going to come to pass? Only God knows, no pun intended, but, seriously, only God knows.
Speaker 1:I mean, if you look back in the Bible, there are many stories of people waiting, people waiting for babies, many stories of people waiting, people waiting for babies. You have Sarai, who was, you know, 99 years old in the late chapters of Genesis I think 99 or 91, when she became pregnant. We have Hannah, who waited for Samuel, who just asked, who was barren, who, just you know, begged the Lord, that you know, she could have a child. She prayed so much to the point that, you know, her husband thought that she was drunk because she was praying in the spirit, and I mean, and the list goes on. So the Lord is quite known for showing up in his perfect timing, which is not always our perfect timing, but since he is God and he is Lord, you know, we need to trust him and trust that his timing is absolutely perfect. And what I want to direct you to today is a scripture that is in Psalms 40, verses one through three, and I'm going to read this to you from the NLT, because this is a scripture that the Lord directed me to when I was in a period of waiting and I was just like, oh God, where are you? Okay, and that Psalm reads I waited patiently for the Lord to help me and he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and out of the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along. He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what he has done and be amazed. They will put and they will put their trust in the Lord. Now, that is in the New Living Translation.
Speaker 1:There was another translation that I actually wanted to read. I believe it was the Passion Translation, because it reads just a little bit differently and it's the one that I was directed to. Yep, that's it. So here I have here. The Passion Translation reads I waited and waited and waited some more.
Speaker 1:Now, that part is key because when I found this scripture, this is the translation that I found and it really hit home because this is exactly where I was at. I waited and waited and waited some more patiently, knowing God would come through with me. Then, at last, he bent down and listened to my cry. He stooped down to lift me out of danger from the desolate pit I was in and out of the muddy mess I had fallen into. Now he's lifted me up into a firm, secure place and steadied me. While I walk along this ascending path, a new song for a new day rises up in me. Every time I think about how he breaks through for me, a static praise pours out of my mouth. Until everyone hears how God has set me free, many will see his miracles and they'll stand in awe of God and fall in love with him.
Speaker 1:Now, that is the translation that I love, because that translation for me just has a little bit of more spice, a little bit more um to it. It kind of just, kind of, you know, hits me right in my spirit. First of all, if you look at that scripture, in the beginning I waited and waited and waited some more, which is a place where a lot of us are and I mean this is a Psalmist, david, that wrote this. This is many, many years ago that this is written. So, like I said, in the Bible there are many stories of people that are waiting. But the one thing that I want you to do when you are in this place is to reflect back to your word, because as you look up all these stories, as you find the scriptures, you'll notice wait a minute.
Speaker 1:I am not the only one that's waiting and waiting and waiting some more. I'm not the only one who is crying out, because the scripture says and I cried out, he listened to my cry, he stooped down to lift me out of danger, which is often where we feel we are. I mean, it may not necessarily be danger per se where your life is in danger, or it may be where your life is in danger, but whether it's a bill to pay, whether it's a medical condition, maybe it's trouble in a relationship, it will literally feel like you are in danger. Everyone's situation is different. Everyone's situation is extreme to them. We can't knock and say whether someone feels like they're in danger or not, but the key point that I want to drive home with this is that every situation in the Bible, you can see that our God is so good and he has always come through.
Speaker 1:As you walk this Christian walk out, as you pick up your cross daily, one thing you will see is that the Lord always comes through. The Bible repeats over and over and over again he will never leave or forsake us, and it repeats that constantly because it's true, like I said, his word cannot return void. He is not a man that he can lie. So when you come to these places of desperation and like I said, you will there are two things you are going to do, and this may sound cliche and repetitive, but I'm speaking to you for many years of experience when I say it absolutely works.
Speaker 1:The Bible says that the word is alive and it's living. It's sharper than a double-edged sword. It cuts through what is it? It cuts through marrow and flesh. What is it? Bone and marrow, flesh and spirit. So this word, right here, when you read it, this God that we serve is alive. We are his children. He loves us. He does not want to see us in these type of situations, but you have to know that he is such a good God. You have to know that if he has you in this dire, straight situation, that it's for a reason. It's to grow you, it's to stretch you, and I hate to use cliche type of analogies that many people have used before.
Speaker 1:But just think about it as going to the gym. If you go to the gym and you work out, you hurt after you work out. The goal is not to hurt, but the goal is to build up muscle and stamina, and then it calms down, it gets better. You look at your body, you see the shape, you see the definition, and you go back and you add on some more weights and it hurts again. It's the same thing with the Christian walk. This is what we are doing. We are building up our spiritual muscle. We are going for the long haul. Here, endurance is key. This is what he wants to do with us. He wants to carry us from glory to glory to glory to glory. So if he's building us up, then he must have something mighty for us to do.
Speaker 1:Each of us has an assignment. Each of us is not just here on this earth just to you know la-di-da, just you know fool around and to do whatever Through your job. You may not be a pastor, you may not be a minister, an evangelist, a prophet, a teacher, whatever. You may just be a social worker, you may just be a stay-at-home mom, you may just be a plumber or anything else. But whatever you are in life or whatever you do, you have a journey and you have an assignment. You have something that you need to be built up for so that you can do your assignment, so that you can glorify the kingdom of God. But, like with anything, there's going to be challenges, so you need to exercise and build up your muscle.
Speaker 1:So what I want to encourage you guys is that, when you are going through these problems, find an area, whether it's an area in your home or it's an area in nature. Me personally, I have a prayer closet, but it's summertime. I also enjoy nature, whatever it is. Find a spot, grab your Bible, pray to the Lord, because he is constantly listening, and the Bible says seek first the kingdom of God and everything else will be added on to you. I can't tell you when it's going to be added. I can't tell you how long you're going to have to wait, but guess what? I can tell you for sure that the Lord is going to come through, and if there are hindrances and delays, if there are things that are blocking your breakthrough and your answers, then you need to ask him for that as well.
Speaker 1:Father God, is there anything that I'm doing to stretch this out longer than it needs to be, because I don't want to be like the children of Israel. I don't want to go through something for 40 years when it could be done in 11 days. So, father God, show me the way, show me what it is that I'm missing on. Open my eyes to see, open my ears to hear. And he is so faithful, guys, he is definitely going to come through, he's going to speak to you, but you also have to open your ears and listen.
Speaker 1:All right, so that's it for today, guys. I certainly hope that you were encouraged with this breadcrumb. Whatever it is that you're going through, please know that God's got it. He's never going to leave or forsake us. It's so, so true. I've been in a season like this many times, like I said, and every single time, I have so many situations that I can look back and I can say but God, look what he did, look how he came through in the nick of time, in perfect time, and he always does it and he will continue to do it. The Bible says that he's the same yesterday, today and forevermore. So trust, lean and rely on him. All right, guys, be blessed Until next time. Bye-bye.