When God Seems Still

Isaiah 43:19, "Behold, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs forth; do you not perceive and know it and will you not give heed to it? I will even make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert."

Has God ever seemed still in your life?

Have you ever been discouraged because you were praying for the same thing for years yet nothing seemed to be happening?

I've been there before.

I was the girl who prayed, waited, pleaded, and prayed some more for a someday that I began to think would never come. I remember getting on my knees by my bed at night crying out to God and feeling so lonely, so empty, and so discouraged.

I tried to mask my discouraged state with a smile or a comment of, "I trust God." yet inwardly I struggled in those moments where God seemed still.

Was I not praying the right prayer? Was I lacking something I needed in my character for God to answer my plea? Why did God seem still?

These are the questions I wrestled with through the years of me praying for a godly man to share my life with while I continued to remain single with little sign of that changing. Surely if I were just content enough, pretty enough, or at the right place at the right time I wouldn't still be praying the same prayer I prayed since I was twelve.

I don't know why God chooses to do things the way He does at times, but as I look back, I can see clearly that in those moments where God seemed still, He was up to a whole lot more than I recognized at the time.

At the beginning of this year, I felt like I was stuck. It seemed as if nothing was happening in my life, and I felt like I was a nearly 21 year old girl/lady/woman/whatever with nothing changing. "Will this be my life forever?" I thought.

I remember reading Isaiah 43:19 and feeling renewed hope through the simple words, "I am doing a new thing!" I was so ready for new... ready for hope. At that time when I read that verse, I didn't know just how much God meant that He was doing a new thing!

In January, I saw no hope of ever seeing an answer to all those prayers I prayed when God seemed still. Now it's September, though, and that girl/lady/woman/whatever I was telling you about now has more hope than ever and can see a bright future with endless possibilities.

God's been up to a lot, and let me just tell you that when God seems still, He's moving behind the scenes in ways you couldn't even imagine!

He heard my prayers all those years where I felt like He gave me a whole lot of "no's" with very few "yes's". Turns out, the answer didn't stop at "no". It was, "Just wait for what I have planned up ahead!"

In less than a year, I went from being someone who had a desire for a future husband that seemed so far out of reach to being a woman with a godly man by my side who I will call my husband in the upcoming months.

When God seems still, the enemy loves to whisper lies and doubts into our ears and tell us that God's forgotten about us or that where we're at is never going to change. My encouragement today is to share with you that when God seems still, seek Him all the more and hold onto Isaiah 43:19 that He really is doing something new even if you can't perceive it now.

Dear Heavenly Father,

I'm amazed by the fact that You work behind the scenes in my life and have been writing a beautiful story that I just wasn't aware of at the time. There were moments in my life where you seemed still and I felt like I was stuck where I was at forever. However, this year You've shown me that You've been working behind the scenes all along. Your "no's" were never meant to discourage me. They were to show me that You had something up ahead worth waiting for, and sure enough, You did! I praise You for that. I pray for anyone who feels stuck tonight that You'll meet them where they're at and encourage them with my story that You really are doing something new... even if they can't perceive it. Bless them tonight, Jesus! Amen.