I don’t know about you, but so much of my life has been feeling gridlocked lately. It can sometimes feel like I’m stuck in the middle of a giant traffic jam and have no way out. Not there of my own accord, I’m just stuck in the midst of a mass of cars and have no way to get out on my own. I am simply forced to wait until they begin to untangle the mess from the outskirts first. As layer after layer of cars is released and allowed to begin to travel on its own course again, I then feel a mixture of relief and impatience, as I still await my turn.
Watching all things in life feels this way for me right now.
I am in a waiting game. Only God determines the tempo. My only recourse is to relax and lean into His timing. To surrender. Yesterday, as I considered some of these things, I saw myself in the process of delivering a baby. The head had crowned and the baby was coming, but I was enduring, in that moment, the greatest amount of pain. We all (women who have given birth) know that the greatest pain comes as the baby comes out. Everything that previously happened pales in comparison to that hopefully quick moment when the baby finally makes its entrance into the world.
This is not a moment to give up. No mother would stop at this point in delivery. On the contrary, every birthing mother hits this point and feels the readiness to fully deliver the baby.
God, come and fully deliver the promise to us today, in Jesus’ name.
This is our moment, the labor has been longer than expected, the pain has been greater than we believed we could endure. We have labored through this extended night. We are here. We may be exhausted and poured out from all the gridlock and waiting, but we are here!
I have never given up God. I have never denied Your promises. I have partnered with You at every step. I have leaned into You with every burning contraction. I have learned to rest in the gridlock. Now is Your moment to step in and deliver this “baby” holy Physician.
Come. Release us from this gridlock. Remove every obstacle in our path. You are our only hope, but You are more than capable to deliver us.
Prayer Moment: God, I will trust in You. I lean into You now, to receive the release of the promise. You are Hope. You are Deliverer. I will trust in You. No matter what I see with my earthly eyes, I will still trust my spiritual eyes more. I look toward heaven and receive the dove of promise today. You are the Foundation of my hope and strength, and I know, with full confidence, that You never fail. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
“Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. I will take you as My own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, Who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians, and I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord.” Exodus 6:6-8
365 Days in the Presence 