On to the Next Stage!

Now that I have finally gotten past the tests, projects, and pure stress associated with finishing up an MBA, I have finally gotten a few moments to sit and ponder what is to come. I am about to begin a new stage in life, and certainly there are many unanswered questions. Where will I work, where will I live, what will the next year look like? These are all issues that have flashed through my mind in the course of the last few days. I can't say that I sit in a state of anxiety, but I can say I look forward to where the Lord moves me with great anticipation. As the Lord has blessed me through the past year I have learned a thing or two about waiting for Him to work. I know this area of patience is one of my most difficult to accept and learn, so it comes as no surprise to me that the Lord usually makes everything come together for me at the last second.

Let me tell you, this strategy has grown and stretched me more than almost anything else in my walk. While I certainly struggle at times with waiting on the Lord, at this point in my life I can say that I have made large progressive leaps towards becoming "patient". My favorite verses in the Bible expands on how patience molds us. James 1:2-4 "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." So the testing of your faith produces steadfastness, well considering this life is made up of a multitude of continual tests, it is great to be able to see the reasoning for it all. When you are tested, stretched, and tried to a point of almost breaking, what is it all for? It is to move you closer with Christ. Patience is a form of stretching, and is also a true test of humility. Can I sit and just..........Wait, wait on Him to put me where He wants me to be? Reliance on His will, and His power to open any door, anywhere, anytime. Do I truly trust Him to take care of me? All these questions present themselves through the act of waiting. But what is gained through the the process? You become closer to who Christ wants you to be, perfect and complete. When I learned the first lesson in my life about reliance on Christ to supply my needs, it stuck. The thing I had to realize is that to my flesh, this need that the Lord met in incredible ways, is argued away as one that occurred in a vacuum, and was never meant to be used across all problems and needs in my life. The Lord recognizes my self-willed, self-reliant attitude, and from that, He constantly stretches me, and brings me back to the edge of my faith. This in the process of making me once again, rely on Him to make the step into the dark unknown areas that I have never explored before. What comes from this constant movement, and often painstaking repetition of steps?..........Trust, Hope, and Faith. I grow more confident through every trial that the Lord can supply ANY and all needs. The more I realize this, the more he puts me out there again, to wait on Him. Without the constant battle of facing the unknown, without control, how will I ever truly learn reliance. If there is even the smallest amount of pride that I am in control and make the decisions that are best for me, how could it be that I truly trust and rely on Him! I think this is a contradiction that the Lord is in the business of removing from our lives, and at times he does so through some of the very trials that so often we pray in the hopes that we will never have to face.