Waiting To Exhale

By Kandice Adams

I have been the breadwinner for our family for quite a while now.  It wasn’t part of the plan… our plan, and until recently, I never considered that it might be a part of God’s plan.

Honestly, I had always felt punished, or at the very least, in a holding pattern.

I spent years holding my breath…
waiting for God to give my husband a job,
waiting to breathe financially,
waiting for our circumstances to change so I didn’t have to carry the burden alone...


I was so frustrated with waiting that I forgot to live; I forgot to exhale.

One evening not too long ago, right there in the middle of my juice stained, carpeted floor, I railed against God, and He gave me an answer that I had not been seeking.


He sent me to Paul.
 

“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want; I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:12-13).


When Paul penned those words he just had been imprisoned for the third time.


The current circumstance was house arrest, but he had seen how things could be.

He had been tortured; he had been hungry.

There were days when he didn’t know if he would live or die.

Yet he was gracious; yet he looked to the father; yet he chose to be content.


As I sat on the floor of my warm, comfortable home, waiting for the dinner bell to “ring,” it occurred to me that I needed to learn to be content.

Subconsciously, I had been asking Him to provide a life for me that would make needing Him unnecessary.


Have you been wondering why you are not living the American dream?

Have you been wondering why it feels like you take two steps forward but one step back?


Perhaps you have been subconsciously asking Him to provide a life that would make needing Him unnecessary too.

Because He loves us, His answer is “no.”


We have a choice; we could choose to be miserable in this season, or we could choose to be content.


Let’s choose to be content.

Let’s choose to exhale… our plans, our hopes, and our dreams, and place it all at His feet.


Our father is providing us with an opportunity of a lifetime, to grow closer to Him, to learn to trust Him with everything, and to find our contentment in Him.  His refusal is the greatest gift of love as those seeds will continue to sprout forth and stretch to eternity.


Today, sweet sister, if you are finding yourself in a season that wasn’t planned, instead of holding your breath waiting for the season to pass, exhale and place each desire at the feet of the father.   Ask Him to help you find your contentment in Him, and trust that every season has a shared purpose of rooting you further in His love.

 

Word of the Day
“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want; I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” Philippians 4:12-13 NIV.



Prayer
Father, your grace and your love surpass every thought, every hope, and every dream, I could conjure.  There are times when I take my eyes off of you… in my forgetful, ungrateful moments, please remind me of the goodness and the contentment that can only be found in you, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

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