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Ministry

Waiting on God

By June 17, 2017August 11th, 2021No Comments

By: Shaila Emig
Executive Assistant

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit”   Romans 15:13

 I’m sure many of you have had something happen in your life that has seemed like a setback. It could have been financially, physically, mentally, emotionally, or whatever else it may be. It has seemed to throw you off track. For the past three months, I have had a minor setback. This setback is an injury to my knee that has caused me to have surgery. Now it doesn’t sound that bad, because it was “just” a meniscus tear. The medical crew said that recovery will be quick and I will be back to normal soon. I was told after surgery that, as long as I keep the swelling down, the recovery process will be quick. So I have committed to a week of resting, elevating, and icing my knee, after surgery, so that this process can go as quick as possible.

I know many of you don’t know me personally, but I grew up playing sports. I lived on a farm, the only girl with two older brothers. I don’t think there were many times in my life that “resting” or “taking it easy” occurred. Not only that, but I am someone who genuinely enjoys working out; not just for the health factor and getting in shape, but because it helps me think and process. It is an outlet when I’m frustrated, sad, or stressed. It is a place I can go that allows me to “get away” while still being present. Furthermore, as I have mentioned before in a prior blog, I do ministry work currently with kids. This involves being a human jungle gym, all time quarterback, dodgeball participant, tag on the park equipment, races, and much more. Having this setback has made it feel like I can’t connect with the kids like I did before. I can’t interact with them on a level that makes them have fun, and that they are comfortable enough to talk about life.

Now this isn’t a major life circumstance and I know that it will heal, and everything will go back to normal. However, knowing all of this hasn’t stopped me from wrestling with God. Many of my spiritual advisors and friends have tried to tell me to be still, and that it could just be a season that God has me going through. Now if you have had a setback or something that has thrown you off track, you can relate to the thought that being still doesn’t seem efficient, or effective. So we tend to take things into our own hands, because we think that we know what is best for ourselves. We try to push it. We ignore the signs. We start to get frustrated, and even more restless. We finally come to a point where we are tired. We are frustrated because we realize that we are worse off than before we decided to take things into our own hands.

Due to these setbacks, we get to a point where we are tired, frustrated, and want to give up. In this very moment, God is calling out to His children. He desires for us to come to Him. “Come to me, all who are weary and heavy burden and I will give you rest.” For many, whom seem as if they can’t be “still”, we are missing the entire point. He says, “Be still and know that I am God.” If I would have been still in this recovery process, I would have known that God is working. Whether He is working in me, in things around me, or healing me, He is able to use this time to bring Himself glory. He is able to take things that we see as setbacks, and work them to bring good. He is asking that we trust Him even when it doesn’t make sense, even when we feel like we are going to lose it, even when we feel like we are at the end of our rope. God will always have our best interest at heart, but with our finite mind we think we know what is best, and therefore we start the wrestling match with God.

So, I would encourage any of you who have been thrown off your path, or who have encountered a setback, no matter how big or small, to be still and know that He is God. Seek God in prayer and ask Him what it is that He would like to reveal to you in this time, or even season. Lastly, remember God doesn’t operate on our time. So, be patient and have faith that He is able to make any setback into a triumph.

 

 

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