Always Emily

I wrote a post for Propel Women that was published on their social media:

For years I’ve been waiting on certain promises of God. This summer, my frustration was at an all-time high.

On vacation at a state park, I took a walk down a familiar path. I needed to connect with the Lord in this place of no cell service and green wilderness. I walked the curvy road, asking God my questions. Why haven’t You come into these situations yet? When will You deliver on these promises?

As I went, I kept expecting to turn the corner and see a certain landmark that would tell me where I was. I usually took bike rides on this road, not walks.

Every turn, I expected to see it, and with each turn there was just another stretch of road nestled in an expanse of trees.

Okay, this next turn will be it…
Surely it’ll be this one…
I could’ve sworn it was here…
I didn’t know the path like I thought I did. And with every guess, I grew more annoyed.

I realized I was doing the same with God; trying to predict His next move.

Every curve in the road, I pointed and said, ‘It’s coming up. Right here, this is it.’
And every time, I was disappointed when I turned the corner.

My focus was attached to where I was going, not the One walking with me. I kept craning my neck to see if the deliverance was coming, without ever looking beside me to see the Deliverer right there with me.

God’s presence isn’t around the corner. It’s not over the hill or at the next landmark. God didn’t put His light at the end of the tunnel – He put his light within us.

If you think you just need this one deliverance, and then you can focus on God, consider the Israelites. They had no patience for Moses up on the mountain. They’d just been freed from slavery, yet were so eager for their next deliverance they traded God for man-made idols.

If you worship your deliverance, you’ll always be pining for more.
Only the Deliverer can fulfill your peace.

“For he satisfies the longing soul…” Psalm 107:9a.