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PROGRAM D-7760
Are you in holding on mode—waiting and hoping and praying for some good news, some positive movement, but it just isn’t happening? Holding on while you’re on hold is a hard place to be, there’s no denying that. I’ve shared three simple, biblical principles which will help you hold on, and they are: Trust in God’s sovereignty, Trust in God’s timing, and Trust in God’s love. Believe me, those truths will sustain you while you’re in the waiting rooms of life.
Before he left to go back to glory with his father, Jesus said, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20b) Jesus is now seated at the right hand of God making intercession for us, but we are not without him because he sent his Spirit to dwell within us, so that we have his constant presence in our lives. In fact, Jesus said that it was for our good that he was going away, so that the Counselor—the Holy Spirit—would come and indwell all believers.
In Hebrews we read that God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” And that “never” includes the times when you don’t feel his presence; when instead you feel abandoned and alone. Those are the times he is carrying you.
I love this song by Babbie Mason which says:
God is too wise to be mistaken
God is too good to be unkind
So when you don’t understand
When you don’t see His plan
When you can’t trace His hand
Trust His Heart
Can you trust his heart today? Sometimes when I’m holding on because everything seems to be on hold, I think of what Peter said when many of Jesus’ disciples turned back and no longer followed him. “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve. Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”
Where are you going to go when you’re on hold and life seems like an unending stream of bad news, or when you’ve been waiting and waiting for something good to happen and instead, things got worse? What are your options? Honestly, I think there are times when you come to the end of your rope, and all that is left for you to do is to decide if you will trust God or not—if you will believe that he loves you or not. Peter and the other disciples were at a breaking point, not understanding what Jesus was up to, wondering if they had made a huge mistake to cast their lot with this Galilean teacher. But Peter got it right: Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.
That’s what the disciples needed at that time—words of eternal life; truth that Jesus was the way, the truth and the life, and they could trust him for all eternity. And isn’t that what you need when you’re holding on? You need hope that this is not forever; there is an eternity to come and it will be blessed and perfect.
I want to encourage you today—if you’re holding on while you’re on hold—to trust the heart of God; to let go of your doubts and fears and simply choose to believe that God is sovereign, his timing is right, and his love will never let you go—never!
