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Note: This post is part of the Two Weeks of Waiting Devotional. To return to the table of contents for the devotional, click here. To read this as a downloadable ebook, subscribe below.
Isn’t it funny how the minute you hear about something new, suddenly it starts popping up everywhere? For instance: You’re looking at buying a new car and have got your eye on the Mazda CX-5. You swear you’ve never seen that car out on the road before…but all of a sudden, everyone everywhere is driving that car.
This happened to me the other day. My doctor mentioned doing a genetic test to see if I have a mutation in a gene called MTHFR (which I had never heard of before this)…and then the next day, what pops up first on my Pinterest feed? A blog post about MTHFR. Sometimes we swear our social media can hear us talking.
The truth is, though, those things were always there. More people didn’t suddenly buy Mazda CX-5s, and my phone wasn’t listening to my doctor explain the MTHFR gene. It’s just that when you start to think about something, you start to notice it everywhere.
And herein lies our biggest problem with waiting: We’re focusing on the wrong thing. Because I want to be pregnant, there are pregnant people and babies literally everywhere. Are more people pregnant all of a sudden at the grocery store? No. It’s just that I notice what I’m focused on.
And just like how when we start to think about something, we start to notice it everywhere, when we don’t think about something, we don’t notice it anywhere.
And so sometimes it seems that God has abandoned us while we wait. We know that the Bible says He’s always with us…and we’ve heard all of those scriptures that say He’ll never leave us…but then why does He seem to be MIA?
Have you ever thought that maybe it’s just because you’re not noticing Him? We don’t have to notice God for Him to provide for us and be with us; He will do that either way. But if you’re not focusing on God or spending any time with Him, you just might make the mistake of thinking He’s MIA.
Further study + reflection
Check out the story of Jacob in Genesis 27. He travels from Beersheba to Harran (about 450 miles!), and eventually becomes aware of God’s presence (v. 16) after God gives him a little reminder in the form of a dream.
So how do we become aware of God’s presence? I recommend regular prayers of thanksgiving (or a prayer or gratitude journal). Focusing on the way God is providing for and interceding for you reframes your mindset and encourages you to focus on Him throughout the day (especially if you write those things down later on at night).
Note: This post is part of the Two Weeks of Waiting Devotional. To return to the table of contents for the devotional, click here. To read this as a downloadable ebook, subscribe below.
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