“Further seems forever Until you’ve seen, until you get there Until you feel that promised land beneath your feet There’s a reason for the journey There is purpose in the learning Not everything in life comes naturally
No, not everything in life comes easily
But we’re getting there We’re determined to discover All that You have hidden for us Along the way And we’re getting there Your presence is the promise There is nothing that could stop us
We’re on our way
We’ve tasted of Your goodness We know that You are for us We could hear the sound of heaven cheer us on Every day begins with mercy Every moment filled with beauty Knowing You have gone before us with the sun Knowing You believe in us with confidence we’ve won
And we’re getting there.”
-“Getting There,” by Steffany Gretzinger
We often need to remind ourselves that though we may not have it now, it does not mean we won’t have it eventually.
You may be single now or have been single for years, but that does not mean you will be single for the rest of your life.
You may be sick now, but that does not mean that you won’t be healed and able to live out the rest of your life healthy.
You may not have a child now, but that doesn’t mean you won’t have a child in the future.
You may not have a job yet, but that doesn’t mean that a job is not right around the corner.
It’s the getting there that can become our ally or our enemy. We must remind ourselves that we will get there, and continue to stay the course and not lose confidence in the One who has promised us.
“So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded,” (Hebrews 10:35, NIV).
“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful,” (Hebrews 10:23, NIV).
Discouragement is served daily like breakfast, but it is our choice if we eat it. If we allow it, we can become discouraged, frustrated and discontent just by scrolling through social media. We begin to mistake what everyone else has as our ultimate happiness. We can obsess over the lives of those on reality TV, or the fantasy lives wrapped up in pretty packaging, or superstars living out what we have decided are our dreams and become judge and jury as a result, deciding if we feel they deserve those things. It leads to destructive thoughts and becomes a weight we carry of unfairness, and we begin to gauge our lives through its bitter lens.
“But God, I wanted that, did you forget about me?” It’s at this thought the enemy starts the sabotage of distracting and destructive thoughts of God abandoning you or not caring. You begin to lose that hope promised to you and you begin to question if God is mad at you.
Take heart, I have seen many who have waited and won. Your confidence will not be put to shame. It will be rewarded, richly.
“No one who hopes in you will ever be put to shame,” (Psalm 25:3, NIV).
“Kings will be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. They will bow down before you with their faces to the ground; they will lick the dust at your feet. Then you will know that I am the LORD; those who hope in me will not be disappointed,” (Isaiah 49:23, NIV).
Often, our reactions show our hearts. How do you react when others are blessed before you?
Recently, I came across some verses in Micah that gave me that extra encouragement for when I feel like things are not happening for me as I’ve wanted and feel as though giving in could be easier.
“But me, I’m not giving up.
I’m sticking around to see what God will do.
I’m waiting for God to make things right.
I’m counting on God to listen to me.
Don’t, enemy, crow over me.
I’m down, but I’m not out. I’m sitting in the dark right now,
but God is my light.
But it’s not forever. He’s on my side and is going to get me out of this.
He’ll turn on the lights and show me his ways.
I’ll see the whole picture and how right he is. And my enemy will see it, too,
and be discredited—yes, disgraced!”
(Micah 7:7-10, The Message)
Whatever it is, it may seem like it’s not happening now and has not happened in a long time, but know that it’s not forever. We need to encourage each other daily to hold unswervingly to the hope and the knowledge that God is faithful, true, cannot lie, will finish what He started, and do what He has said. Even if you cannot see a light at the end of the tunnel, be assured and confident that it is indeed there. Never doubt in the dark what God told you in the light.
You are loved. You are special. You are seen. You are going somewhere, though getting there seems so long.
daily devotional Leilani Glassmyer
