Withholding Nothing. God Has Not Forgotten You.
FOR THOSE WHO FIND THEMSELVES SINGLE ON VALENTINE’S DAY
It’s the day before Valentine’s day 2023 and another year has passed, another 365 days… of waiting.
Can I be honest?
I am tired of waiting.
“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.”
Proverbs 13:12
Valentine’s day is usually one of my favorite days of the year, a day solely dedicated to celebrating love? Count me in! Yet, this year try as I might, I have not been able to muster up my usual excitement.
If your story has been anything like mine then your waiting season has spanned almost a decade. Almost a decade of hoping and then realizing that my hope has once again returned to me…empty. Almost a decade of mustering up the courage to believe again, and again, and again in what seems like an endless loop. Almost a decade of encouragement that is meant to be meaningful, but in the end, all it amounts to is words. Almost a decade of quiet moments with God, seeking, asking, trusting; moments where tears dry on my face, only to be replaced by a temporary smile.
I’m tired.
You might ask, where is the message of hope? Where is the encouragement that you usually give Nseandra?
There’s just one thing. Only one thing I can say…
I know Him.
I know His nature. I know His character and I know that He is not trying to hurt me by withholding what I desire. I know that all things work together for my good (Romans 8:28) and I believe that He is the Keeper of Promises. I won’t allow myself to slip into the abyss of depression, self-pity or worse, the lie that God has somehow forgotten me. He has not.
“14 But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me,
the Lord has forgotten me.”
15 “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast
and have no compassion on the child she has borne?
Though she may forget,
I will not forget you!
16 See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;
your walls are ever before me.”
Today, I wrote about singleness, but I know that this hope can be applied to every area of your life. If you heard yourself echoed anywhere in the words on this page I want you to know that God withholds no good thing from those who are righteous (Psalm 84:11). He knows the perfect timing for all that He has in store for us and we just have to learn to trust Him. Trust that He wants only good for us, and that ultimately, He knows best.
Whatever it is that you are waiting for don’t you dare allow yourself to believe that God has forgotten you. Don’t allow the facts of your life to dissuade you from The Truth.
God is faithful. (Jeremiah 1:12)
God remembers.
God cares. (1 Peter 5:7)
God is concerned.
He is El Roi, the God who sees you. (Genesis 16:13)
He loves you. (Jeremiah 31:3)
Trust. His. Timing. Trust His nature. Trust His character. Trust that He isn’t holding out on you. Rather, He is a good Father and wants to see you prosper. As a result, He will give you nothing before you are able to steward it well. After all, a blessing before it’s time is a curse.
In the mean time, let’s view tomorrow as a celebration of the love we already have, the love that God has already so graciously given us. Let’s allow His eternal, everlasting love to fill up every place where we have been disappointed or weary. Despite how we feel, His love is more than enough.
I encourage you to write out a list of the people in your life who love you. Then write out the parts of your life that you love. Start with God and ask Him to show you the beauty that already exists in your life just as it is. You may be pleasantly surprised with what you discover.
Beloved, God is withholding nothing from you and He promises,
“When the time is right, I, the Lord will do it.”
Isaiah 60:22
Here’s a beautiful song that Holy Spirit led me to when I needed it most. A reminder of His love.
