I was in the middle of cooking yesterday and everything was going well until I opened the refrigerator to grab for one of the key ingredients I needed to complete the meal. As I scanned the shelf in the fridge and noticed an empty space where what I reached for should have been, I sighed in frustration.
I realized we had used the last of what was necessary to perfect the recipe. Why did I not notice that before the most inconvenient moment possible?
“Aw man!” I muttered nudging the door shut. I was completely aggravated because my progress was being hindered by an unexpected mandatory grocery store run. I was hungry and ready for my chef duties to be over so I could fill my belly.
Although the neighborhood grocer is very close to home, lengthening my dinner completion time—even by just minutes—was so frustrating.
When you’re feeling famished Daily Cup family, minutes feel like hours, don’t they?
Yet and still, running the quick errand was necessary. And when it was all over, the meal was completed, albeit a tad later.
The world didn’t end. I didn’t die of starvation. Everything turned out fine, just as it will in your life.
Similar to my longing to satisfy my hunger, your deep yearning for gratification and breakthrough in your life, might be pretty intense right now. If you are desirous of instantaneous manifestation and satisfaction, any sort of waiting process feels like an eternity.
Trust me. I know.
But the wait won’t last forever. What is missing momentarily will show up in time. In the meantime, make a conscious decision to check (and change, if necessary) your attitude about waiting. Instead of being anxious, antsy, preoccupied, and annoyed, choose to trust, rest, and anticipate a manifestation of God’s best in your life.
To remind you to do this, I’m stirring God’s anxiety-free recipe for waiting into your cup of inspiration. It’s found in Philippians 4:6 NKJV and says, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.”
When you drink down the contents of your cup, you will be empowered to combat the anxiety and preoccupation that oft accompanies the waiting process. This will be achieved by doing what the word of God prescribes: praying and giving thanks.
When unexpected delays and setbacks take the place of the forward progress you want so much, you won’t allow your spirit to be vexed. You won’t complain, slip into depression, or act impetuously. Rather, you will go to God in prayer and then praise Him without trying to impose your own timeline.
Just rest in Him. Everything will come together exactly how and when God wants it to.
Now let’s pray together.
Father, I thank You for showing me how to take delays and setbacks in stride. Whenever anxiousness tries to creep in, please bring your word back to my remembrance so that I will pray and give thanks. Today, oh God, I lay down my own plans and agenda, and I submit fully to Your timetable. In Jesus' name, Amen.
As always, thanks for reading and until next time... may today's cup of inspiration uplift, encourage, and empower you!
