Waiting For His Glory

       When I was little, one very unattractive quality about myself was how impatient I was. Yes, I was that child that went up to my Mother when she was talking to someone and tugged repeatedly until I got an answer. I was the child who couldn't wait to finish road trips and asked over and over again when we would get there. I was that child that when Momma said no ice cream until dinner I snuck out to the outside freezer with a spoon and an empty belly and ate from the container. Needless to say I was caught red handed for that one :). As I have gotten older I would like to think that I have become more patient. That age has helped tame some of that unattractive quality. That patience, being a virtue, is one the Lord has blessed me with.  However, according to the present situation I would say I still need some work in that area.
        Six Days.
        Six days until I board a flight to Uganda and wait for everything the Lord has planned. Six days to do all of my packing and planning. Six days to prepare my heart and mind for what lies ahead. Six days to raise the rest of my support. Six days to tug on the Lord and ask Him where is the money. Six days to ask him every hour on the hour when is the money coming in. Six days to rush ahead of the treasure
He has for me and try to find it on my own.
       Or six days to wait and watch and marvel at his planning, timing, and workmanship. I want to make the conscious effort to allow His treasure, His blessing, His provision to be revealed to me in His timing. Just yesterday I picked up a copy of Jesus Calling that my Mother has and read the entry for that day. It brought me back to a verse I became quite familiar with last summer during my time as a camp counselor with Centrikid. The key verse for the whole summer was Philippians 4:19.
"And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus."
         Paul always had all that he needed. For example when Paul was in prison with Silas after being beaten and persecuted in Acts 16, God does not provide a way out immediately for Paul and Silas. He makes them wait and endure. Paul and Silas are held under lock and key and ordered not to be released. God provides a way out. An earthquake shakes the prison and the doors fly open and everyone's chains fall off. God was making sure He got the glory for that one. God was making sure it was abundantly clear who had released them from prison, who had provided their every need, and who had done it in His own timing.
         The same God who provided for Paul in this situation and countless others, Paul promises will provide for me. He won't necessarily come right when I think He should. He will come when it is in His plan. When He receives all of the glory. When His name is the one that is lifted up, because after all, shortly after God releases Paul from prison He gives Paul the opportunity to lead the jailer and His whole family to Christ. There is purpose in everything God does. There is purpose in waiting and I'm excited to see the glory God will be getting through these last few days of waiting. Instead of waiting for money. What a much more exciting thing to be waiting to see His glory. It may be that the Lord sends me to Uganda with not enough money and just like He multiplied the loaves and the fishes, somehow it lasts the whole summer. It may be that God waits until the hour I'm leaving to pour in the last bit of money. It may be that I get a phone call tomorrow that someone has paid the rest of my trip. I don't know what's going to happen. I don't know how God is going to do it or when He is going to do it but I'm so excited to see.
         No more tugging on His shirt, no more repeating the same question over and over, no more trying to find the treasure on my own. I'm content to sit back and wait and watch the same God who provided a way for my salvation, provide for me now and in the months to come. I'm learning patience in a whole new way. I'm learning that waiting can be exciting. It isn't just sitting on yourself to try to maintain self control. It is learning to trust that the waiting will be worth it, that God's timing is perfect, and His riches are glorious!
       What I would ask this week from all of my lovely friends and family is that you would be in prayer for the Lord's glory to be revealed. That he would receive all the glory as my team and I humbly serve him this summer. Ask for our hearts to be prepared and ready for the work he will equip us to do. Ask for boldness and wisdom in all of our adventures. Ask for patience to continue to take on a while new meaning as I wait, not for money, but for His glory.