In the Valley of Waiting (a progress update)

I want to start this blog post by saying that I do not like waiting, I’m not so spiritual that the waiting is easy for me, and that I definitely haven’t figured out all of this waiting stuff. I start with that so that what I say next isn’t misunderstood by anyone, and so that you know that I’m on this journey of life learning from God and depending on God just like all of you are……so I hope you’re encouraged by this progress update.

Well, April 23rd marked exactly 11 months since God clearly spoke to me while on a family vacation/scouting trip in San Francisco that He was indeed leading me and my family to plant a church. Since that time it has been quite a journey as we’ve continued to walk by faith towards this new venture in faith that God is calling us to. We’ve had Mountain-top moments of confirmation, divine appointments, open doors, and an amazing prayer tour – and we’ve also had Valley-low moments of frustration, disappointment, closed doors, and just plain waiting and wondering. Both the Mountain-top and Valley-low experiences are from God, and both are so needful. It’s on the Mountain-tops that we see more and more of the land before us as we get glimpses of the landscape, where our faith is bolstered, excitement and anticipation grows, and where we get more clarity of where God is leading us to and how near we are to entering it. And it’s in the Valley-lows that God teaches us to truly walk by faith and not by sight as the mountains and obstacles around us seem so big and impossible and keep us from being able to see what’s up ahead or where we are at or where we are going, where He teaches us to depend on Him fully and cling to Him, where our faith is tested and stretched, where He refines our character and does deep heart work, and where we have to stand upon His word and His promises to us – believing that what He has promised He will bring to pass in His perfect timing.

Since coming back from the prayer tour at the very beginning of March we have been in that Valley – the Valley of waiting. Though it’s been hard, though we don’t like it – we know God is working and leading even when we can’t see any of it, and we are trusting in His promises.

Psalm 37:3-7a says, “Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass. He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday. Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him” and verse 34a says, “Wait on the Lord, and keep His way, and He shall exalt you to inherit the land”.

Psalm 130:5-6 says, “I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I do hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning— yes, more than those who watch for the morning.”

Many people ask us “What’s new?”, “Any progress?”, “When are you guys going to plant the church?”, and we wish we had something to share……but our answer has been the same – we are just waiting on the Lord. I’m still putting in my resume with different companies as jobs get posted, had many phone interviews and a couple in-person interviews with different companies, but I’m still waiting for the right job to come up, for the right house to come up, and we are still waiting for God’s timing in all of it. He’s in control, He has a plan, He hasn’t forgotten us, He’s still good, He will always be faithful, and we are going to praise and worship and thank Him along the way – even when the valley is at it’s lowest points. We so appreciate all the continued prayers, and we will give more updates as things progress in God’s timing.