How to Gain the Perfect Amount of Wait

by Texas Stready

It took me better than a year to lose 40 pounds. But for better than a year, I’ve kept it off. Yes! Did everything from the Beyoncé lemonade cleanse to three days of fasting a week. I started out walking up-and-down the street and swimming between docks. In the end I was swimming across the lake and back 3X a week, and walking 5 miles with 8 pounds of added weight. Still, it didn’t happen overnight.

In our younger years it seems we can eat whatever we want without tipping the scales in the wrong direction. But as the years rush on, so do the pounds. And the worst part? It takes more time and work to get rid of them. Yuck.

Discipline

Can’t say that I’ve exercised much discipline in my life prior to the last four years. I spent much of my time formulating complex solutions to simple problems. Hindsight generally left me snickering at what turned out to be a futile attempt to rewire grace, the only outlet that was actually working on my behalf. Silly girl.

We stay so busy attempting to find balance when the areas of life that require the most attention can only be found in stillness. Balance produces an active amount of self-reliance that leaves us drained and unsuccessful. Fact is, we aren’t designed to carry the burden of formulating our own plans. Not our job. We’re weak-minded, easily-influenced humans, created for dependence on a higher source.

Know Your Role

Don’t be confused. There’s work to be done but it can’t be calculated and will never be accomplished in our own strength. The key to living a life of fulfilling purpose is actually found in gaining wait. Becoming fat with patience, that is.

We live in a busy and demanding world. It’s easy to get caught up in the latest greatest technology. There are thousands of self-help books and goal-accomplishing packets to purchase, but few things are written about the discipline, exercise, and reliance that comes with waiting.

Train Your Brain

Sounds like such an easy task, but as you try it you’ll discover it doesn’t come naturally. Dedication, repetition, and certainty are required if you hope to achieve supernatural dependence on a God you can’t physically see. Giving up our way and opting to obey an unfamiliar and unexplainable alternative is not such a comfortable experience.

I’ve had two jam-packed weeks this month. No complaints here; I was able to connect with many influential people who can take my ministry to the next level. Getting out and mingling is never hard for me personally, but waiting… now that’s a different story.

Here’s how it goes. I’ve done my part and now I must wait in confident expectancy for God to work His plan in a way that only He can. Like I said, it’s not the easiest thing, but the alternative is my way, and I wrote an entire book about how well that works. Not!

Get Confident

It’s difficult to be patient when questioning or doubting. Realizing this will help you remain in the place where why and how are irrelevant. If I have the answers then I’m the one in control. This is a heaviness I’m incapable of handling. Not questioning, and waiting with an attitude of confidence, takes me to a new level of trust that makes life easy-breezy.

God has a beautiful way of orchestrating every event so we’ll gain the perfect amount of wait. This is the only time when the outcomes happen the way He’s intended. When I’m operating in dependence, God is free to accomplish His will His way. He can then repair, restore, or revive any bum part or inefficient application. Learning to wait on God keeps our focus off the numbers on the balance scale, and keeps our eyes fixed on the Man with the Plan.