"Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised." Romans 4:20-21 NIV
Nearly three years ago, I was blessed (as part of my job as the Wellness Coordinator at our county Health Department) to see one of the greatest desires of my heart (to plant seeds in the lives of little ones) come to pass when I was offered the opportunity to teach a running program to the elementary students in one of the Title I schools in our county. To say that I loved this job would be a total understatement! But what I loved even more was how the Lord used that position to fulfill a dream He soon placed on my heart just weeks after starting the program. "Lord, I prayed," one night after leaving the school. "Some of these kids can't run as well as they should because they don't have the proper footwear they need. Their shoes are either too big, too small, too worn-out, or totally inappropriate for running. Please show me the way to give them all a new pair." And to make a long story short, God very quickly led me to an organization called OneSolePurpose that agreed to partner with the Health Department to make the dream a reality; a reality that should have happened two years ago. But as we know, COVID delayed a lot of dreams... including this one. And while many people simply gave up during that time, we refused to let it go. Through every trial, obstacle and setback, we kept our eyes focused on God "fully persuaded" that He would cause the dream to become reality. And guess what? Yesterday, we passed out 370 pairs of shoes to lots of smiling children... completing the OneSolePurpose project to provide every child in the Dixon Elementary School with a free pair of shoes. How's that for an answered prayer?
And you know, just as Abraham came to understand, what God promises will happen won't always happen quickly. It may take weeks, months, years or even decades to see the thing He promised come to pass. Which is the reason that we, like Abraham, must "not waver through unbelief" regarding those promises but remain "fully persuaded" that God has the power to do what He said— keeping in mind that His timing is always perfect. God is never early and He is never late... ever. Which means we can trust Him while we wait, knowing that the wait will not only grow our faith (and the faith of those watching) but will allow us to see and understand fully that it was only by God's hand that the promise came to pass. Is that a reason to give Him all the glory or what??
So remember this my friend... if God has placed a dream on your heart, don't ever give up on it... ever. Stay "fully persuaded" that God can and will do what He has promised; then wait on His timing. It took 25 years for Abraham to see God's promise to give him more descendants than could ever be counted come to pass but you can bet Abraham was glad he didn't give up; and you will be too if you stay the course.
Heavenly Father, thank You for reminding me, once again, that your timing is perfect as are all your ways. Lord, please remind that person on the brink of giving up on a dream that they know You have placed on their hearts to trust You and continue waiting and working. Please remind them that You have the power to do whatever You have promised and will do so when the time is right. It's in your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen.
Happy Running!!!
Love this!!!
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