As Ceri Ahlborn was looking out her office window, she saw a hummingbird softly land on a branch. God spoke to her, “Even the hummingbirds are still,” He said. This became the title of the devotional God placed in Ceri's heart to write, though Ceri, a self-proclaimed Martha, felt she was not the right person for the job. Halfway through the book, Ceri realized that God was transforming her life as she wrote about being still before God. Ceri now claims to be a “reformed Martha” and cherishes her quiet, still moments with God sitting on her porch in her father's rocking chair overlooking the mountains of Arizona and watching the birds.
I will wait for the Lord, who is hiding his face from the descendants of Jacob. I will put my trust in Him (Isaiah 8:17 NIV).
How often have you asked, “Where are you God?” in one situation or another? How often have you wondered about the goodness of this One who created the universe and everything in it? If you are like me, this question has lingered in your mind more times than you care to admit. Even in our belief that all things work together for God's good purpose, it is still hard to accept some of the challenges we experience in our lives. Most of our experiences are not of our own making, but some are. It is easy to wonder if our sin or someone else's sin has caused these events and circumstances in our lives.
But God is, indeed good. Isaiah knew that and, at some level, we all know it, too. What Isaiah also knew was that God was hiding His face from those who had turned their backs on him. They were worshipping other gods and not keeping His commandments. In short, they were not keeping up their end of the covenant between them and God. The long and short of that covenant was that God would be their God as long as they did not worship other gods and lived within the bounds He set with His commandments. They had failed miserably. But Isaiah had remained steadfast in his worship of the One True God.
So, with a faithful heart, he says e will wait for the Lord and put his trust in Him. What do we do in the waiting? What do we do when things get tough? What do we do when we feel like God is hiding from us? When we don't feel His Presence? When we want to see His face, but don't see any evidence of Him being anywhere near?
God tells us that He is always there. That He will never leave us or forsake us. Isaiah knew that and depended on it. God may not come when we want Him to . We may have to wait for Him to move us past our situations and circumstances. But make no mistake and have no doubt. He is always there holding us through every situation. While we are sinners, we are also saints, washed in the Blood of Jesus. Because of that, God makes sure that we are held through every trauma, every tragedy, every time we doubt His and His goodness. Like Isaiah, we just need to wait for Him and trust Him. He will do it. One example of this is in Isaiah 9:7. (That's one of my favorite sentences in the Bible. When God is telling prophets what He is going to do, He uses this sentence. So God, isn't it?)
I have had three miscarriages and two adoption processes that were interrupted for various reasons. I wanted nothing more than to be a Mom to another child. But God didn't have that in His plan for me. I questioned “why?” so many times and wondered where God was in all of those sad and traumatic situations. But what I came to realize was that God was holding me the whole time. I just needed to trust Him and His plan for my life. That has become easier as time has passed.
God allowed me, instead, to teach children who had emotional and behavioral issues for a long time. Then, I taught students who were “normal” but still at the middle school level. Then I taught high school for a time and finally, taught future teachers at the college level. Everyone of my students was “my kid.” While God did not give me any more biological or adoptive children, He allowed me to love kids, many of whom did not have that kind of love at home.
I pray that all of us will lean into God, trust Him, and wait for Him, as we navigate the sometimes stormy waters of our lives. He loves us and He will do it.
Questions to Consider
- So how has God shown you that He is always there with you and that His plan for your life is amazing?
- How do you wait for God while trusting in His love and His wisdom?
*Photo credits by Greg Ahlborn. Background photo was taken at the Chapel of the Transfiguration at Grand Teton's National Park; the headshot was taken at Lake June, California.
**Would you like a copy of Ceri's book? I will be giving a copy of her book away in a drawing. If you are already a subscriber to my blog, InspirationalLee.com, you will automatically be entered into the drawing. You can subscribe at the end of this page.
Or you can purchase her book on Amazon.
You can connect with Ceri on her blog CerisGodspirations.com or her FaceBook page.