Page 87 - Grace150 Devotional

Wait for the LORD; be strong and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!
Psalm 27:14
Waiting is hard, but it’s hardest when we don’t know the reason. We had
planned to be on the mission field by December—we had the funding, housing,
and an exciting ministry—but three months later we’re still waiting for our visas
with no end in sight, nor any clear reason why God would allow this delay.

As Christians, sometimes we hear dramatic stories about how a frustrating
setback turned out to be the perfect timing in God’s providence. But as exciting
as those stories are, they are not the norm, and we do ourselves a disservice when
we always expect a clear reason. God’s eternal plan for us is, and has always been,
our sanctification—to make us holy and blameless in Christ (Ephesians 1:4).
Sometimes God wants us to wait for no other reason than to teach us patience, or
how to be gracious and forgiving towards those who cause us to wait, or how to
accept the painful reality that we are not in control of our lives or our timelines.

Yet there is joy in this knowledge, for no waiting is wasted. Every setback, every
inconvenience, every unanswered prayer is another opportunity for God’s
gracious work of sanctification in our lives as he carries out his eternal plan of
making us wholly like Christ.

Oh Lord, grant us the grace and courage to wait on You in all things, and to
know that Your timing is always perfect, and to trust that even if we never
know the reason why, You use waiting to accomplish Your purpose of sancti-
fication in our lives.
– Jeremy Otten

Jeremy grew up at Grace, and is the son of Jim and Diane Otten. Jeremy and his wife Christy,
along with their boys Malachi and Caleb, will be serving as missionaries in Belgium with
WorldVenture. Jeremy completed his doctoral studies at Wheaton, and will be teaching at
a seminary in Leuven.

devotions for the journey DAY 80