Wait and see. I’m not sure about you but those words don’t exactly produce the ooey gooey feelings within me. If anything, it generates the curious (insert often times impatient) nature in me that says “what and why are we waiting and what are we going to see?” Can you relate?
If you’ve ever had a dream and/or have been believing God for something, what I’m about to say will come as no surprise: waiting can and often times…suck. Waiting also has the tendency to bring out the sucky (ugly) side in us.
-After renting for years, you’re ready to make the move from renter to home owner. You’ve saved and just as you’re about to make an offer, you find out that you’ve been laid off…
-As a professional single person, you’ve watched as those around you have entered into serious relationships and you’re ready to trade in your single status for married. But the good catches seem to be all taken…(when I was single, I would often describe a good catch/future husband as an endangered species.)
-Your wife and you decide it’s time to start a family but months and years go by and no baby. Meanwhile, everyone around you seems to be starting and growing their families…
-You feel called to write a book. You write. You attend conferences and networking events. You submit your manuscripts to multiple publishers. But nothing. Nada. Meanwhile, it seems like everyone and their mothers are landing book deals and they weren’t even looking to write a book…
Have you ever had a dream that just seems to take a really, REALLY long time?
Wait and see.
Wendy Pope knows a thing or two about this. She even wrote a book called “Wait and See.”
Like many of us (atleast those of us who care to admit it), we’ve made plans for our lives that have not exactly panned out. We’ve had dreams that are still en route. We’ve believed God for one or more things. And if we’re being REALLY honest, all of us have at one point or another tried to help God out and/or speed up the process by making things happen on our own. And by making things happen, I mean try to make things happen.
“Impatience leads to irrational thoughts, and it will cause us to make unwise decisions.”-Wendy Pope
Wendy had dreams of being a mom. So did I. Enter wait and see.
Wendy had dreams of being an author and writer of a published book. Enter wait and see.
Wendy had dreams of her husband being cured of his illness. Enter wait and see.
For Wendy, myself, and many others, wait and see can often be synonymous with feeling like we’re in the PIT or as Wendy describes it: a Personally Intense Trial.
Here are 5 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW To Go From PITiful to POWERful:
1. We are all a work in progress…
“We have to allow God to do a work in us before He can do a work through us.”-Wendy Pope
2. God knows us better than we know ourselves…
“Knowing their weakness, God took them on a faith-building field trip.”-Wendy Pope
“Our soul is most satisfied and our life is most effective when we are where God wants us to be, doing what He wants us to do.”-Wendy Pope
3. Trust God…Wholeheartedly.
“When we are waiting and wondering when things will come to pass, we should continue to do what we know to do. We have to trust that it is God who ultimately works things out, not our own abilities to make things happen.”-Wendy Pope
“But God, knowing our weaknesses and vulnerability often chooses to lead us via a longer route so we can learn to trust Him more.”-Wendy Pope
“Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.”-Corrie Ten Boom
“Trusting God is a lifestyle.”-Wendy Pope
4. Wait is a sign that something BETTER is en route.
“Let your wait fortify your faith, cultivate your character, and reinforce your resolve so that when you fly away from it, the world will see the beautiful colours of your faith.”-Wendy Pope
“Pauses are places meant to strengthen our resolve, not weaken our faith.”-Wendy Pope
“But what God does give is always worth the wait even if it is not what we longed for.”-Wendy Pope
5. Every season of life is about…experiencing God.
“Would I know God if all I had was God?”-Wendy Pope
“We have to be still so we might experience God.”-Wendy Pope
“When we ask God to show us His plan, we begin to align our heart with His heart. The door opens to experience God in deeper, more real ways. We still wait, but we deepen our knowledge of His character and goodness. We learn to trust that God acts on behalf of those who are willing to wait and see (Isa. 64:4) and that He does immeasurably more than we can think or imagine (Eph. 3:20). As we wait, we find peace in God’s plans and hope in His pauses. Our focus moves from the object of our wait to the Person of our faith.”-Wendy Pope
“Love, do good, pray, and bless as God leads. These are His directions for peaceful living. When we follow His directions, there will always be blessings.”-Wendy Pope
After years of waiting, Wendy became a mom to two beautiful kids.
After years of waiting, Drew and I are expecting a little one :).
After years of waiting and several rejection letters later, Wendy was offered a contract to write not one but TWO books! That’s double for her trouble (Zechariah 9:12)
As Joyce Meyer has said on countless occasions “You can’t be pitiful and powerful at the same time.”
The question is, what will you choose?
Wendy is witty, wise, and a friend who is ready to share it all. Her new book “Wait and See” is for any one who has ever struggled with a dream, a desire, a wish for his/her life. I had highlights on almost every page! Her name may be Wendy Pope but after reading her book, I have nicknamed her Wendy HOPE. She is a beacon of hope and a light that will brighten your day/life…she certainly has for me:).
To learn more about Wendy and her newest book “Wait and See” coming out October 1st, please visit wendypope.org
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