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I have heard the term “waiting on God” used in several different situations before.
Usually it’s from very Godly, prayerful people like myself who mean it in the same way I do. If I say, “I am waiting on God”, I mean that I have prayerfully taken my situation to Him and I have submissively waited on His answer.
But what I don’t understand is those who don’t put in their own physical effort.
Maybe it’s a job situation, where someone is hoping that they’ll get a better job or get that promotion at work they’ve been hoping for.
“I’m just waiting on God to provide,” they say as they sit on the couch watching TV.
Maybe it’s a spouse situation, where someone is struggling with a dysfunctional relationship and hoping for it miraculously improve.
“I’m just waiting on God to work on them,” they explain, without changing anything about how they themselves are acting or reacting on a daily basis.
In both of these situations, I know I prayerfully took it to Him, and then put in the effort in the meantime.
For instance: “Lord, please help us get out of debt.”
Then I proceeded to make a list of our debts, and create a budget and plan to start knocking them out. We can cut unnecessary dinners out and watch a movie at home instead of going to the theater.
We can live within our means and stick to our budget.
When Jason and I were having issues, I asked God for help:
“Lord, please help me be the wife you called me to be so that he may see YOUR love in me.”
Then I started actually doing the actions of a devoted wife. No matter what Jason’s response was, I did as God called of me.
It was extremely hard to focus my energy on my own actions – but I was able to do it by the grace of God.
Does this sound familiar? Are you waiting on God to provide or taking action?
Are you putting your best foot forward or relying on God to make everything instantly better?
I believe that God gives us the strength and tools to become better people, to live happier lives and to share that wealth and health with others.
Pay attention to the phrasing here: “gives us the strength and the tools”.
He gives us the strength and the courage to do our own research, set things into motion and do the hard work that will get us where we want to go. He does not give us a bucket of cash and say, “Here – you’re out of debt!”
He gives us the knowledge to keep track of expenses, the humility to seek out financial advisors, the skill to use our resources to our advantage.
As the old proverb goes, “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.”
God is teaching us to fish. We will never learn or reach our potential if someone else is delivering fish to our door every day.
You have to put in the work to reap the reward.
This is such a simple concept – yet we struggle with it on a daily basis. People who fall for get-rich quick schemes or who just don’t understand their relationship with God.
These same people look at my life and my career and sometimes get the wrong idea about my success. “Look at her, her life is perfect. I want that. Why can’t I have that?”
First of all, my life is NOT perfect. It’s all an illusion! Just another mama entrepreneur trying to enjoy life to its fullest.
Second of all, I worked hard to get where I am! My whole family has worked and suffered and I thank God every day that we were able to choose our own circumstances.
Third and most importantly, you CAN have that! It is all in your power.
We have to change our mindset in order to see how we can improve our own lives.
Are you following God’s plan for you or are you just “waiting” for Him to work without giving him anything to work with?