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Sometimes when things don’t work out or when our way seems confusing, it can be tempting to take matters into our own hands. To say (to ourselves), “God’s forgotten me,” or, “I guess this is the best I can get,” or, “The Lord helps those who help themselves.” In short, it can be tempting to settle – to take less than what God has for us.
Don’t Settle
It’s not worth it. God’s plan and provision for our lives is always worth the wait. It’s always good. It’s always better.
A Proverb
A few years ago I was going through a dry patch in relationships. I’d just gotten out of one destructive relationship and I was looking around to find pretty much anything I could. Thank God my mother had the wisdom to coin a proverb for me.
If you’ve been in a desert for a while, even a mud puddle looks refreshing.
— My Mom
Think about that for a second. If you’ve ever been caught in the time between God’s promise and his provision, you know what I’m talking about. Even the writer of the Proverbs in the Bible knew what I’m talking about.
Hope deferred makes the heart sick,
but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.
Proverbs 13:12
Don’t Settle
If you’re in that place – the space between promise and provision (the land of the “nitty gritty“). If you’re unsure of what you should do next. If you don’t know what to do. Don’t settle. Wait on God.
That puddle won’t refresh you.
What’s in that cesspool might kill you.
That puddle might make you sick.
What looks like an oasis might be a mirage.
Wait on God.
My Results
I can tell you that for several years I did my best to avoid puddles and cesspools. I waited on God. I argued with God. But I didn’t take what wasn’t mine and I didn’t settle for less than what God had for me. I waited on God.
And I can tell you that the wife that God had for me is far better than what I could have hoped for. Better than anybody else I could have found. More than I could have stolen or asked for. She rocks!
But I wouldn’t have her as my wife today if I had settled.
How about you?
The context of my story is relationship but we all settle in so many ways. How about you?
Have you settled for less than God’s best?
Do you need to remind yourself of what God has for you?
Do you have a story to tell?
