We have a house that we’ve been renting in Colorado; hoping to buy it. But we can’t buy this one til the one sells in Texas. And our house deal in Texas was still in our name and we had no renters while we still owned the house! Crazy isn’t it? Maybe you’ve had some stress like this lately. Perhaps your kids are just wondering off the page and aren’t even living by the basics that you’ve taught them. Maybe your mother-in-law is driving you nuts! Or your health is scaring you these days.
Everyone has a different struggle. The question is, “Will you handle it, or will you hand it?” It seems that as long as we try to handle our situation…grab it…try to fix it, God takes His hands off. And as long as we keep our hands off, He grabs it and handles it. Now, it’s probably never true that He takes His hands OFF at any point, but it can feel like it. That’s for sure. However, as long as we try to MAKE it happen or fix things, He seems to let us til we’re totally depleted and take our hands off. Then in His gentle, loving way says, “I’ve got it. You can trust me.”
Psalm 40 says “I waited patiently for the Lord”. That’s an interesting phrase. Everybody waits on the Lord. He’s the Lord…what are you going to do? You HAVE TO wait on Him. The real question is whether we’re waiting patiently on Him. He is well aware of what is stressing us. He feels what we feel. He knows. Sometimes it may even seem that He is cruel. But He is Good. If we take our hands off, trust Him and wait on Him, we’ll see what only He can do. That’s a whole lot better than taking it into our own hands and seeing what only we can do!
To operate from the position of rest instead of striving, we constantly whisper to the Lord, “this is not my deal, this is Your deal.” If we need to have two houses at once, deplete all our savings, and wonder how we can make the next payment, then that’s His deal. We are following up on all that He is placing before us, but still refuse to grasp it. He’s the Solution, not us. We will wait patiently on the Lord. As Andrew Murray said years ago, “God is ready to assume full responsibility for the life wholly yeilded to Him.” Absolute Surrender
You know, He may never even change the circumstance. Father knows best. What we can be assured of is that “He will fulfill the plans He has for us”. Psalm 138: 7-8 He is a Rewarder, not a withholder.
If you get a chance soon, you should read the chapter “The Holy But” from the book “The Rest of the Gospel…When the Partial Gospel has Worn You Out”. It’s a great explanation of living with your eyes fixed on Christ and not on your problems. It’s the best we’ve ever read on the subject–except of course Psalm 131. 
By the way, we still haven’t gotten the home in Colorado, but God has graciously given us an owner finance deal on our Texas house. We will keep trusting and resting in Him.
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