Wait

We are nearly at the end of Leviticus. Tomorrow is our last Chapter and last day before we begin Numbers. Today we're in Leviticus Chapters 25-26. And as i was reading Leviticus 25, God says something that makes me a little nervous.

Every seventh year don't plant.

Just let the land rest.

And I immediately think, Okay but what are we supposed to eat?

Because that's what I would ask.

If we don't plant, we don't harvest.

If we don't harvest, we don't eat.

If we don't eat we have a problem.

   They had to plant in order to harvest. No Harvest meant a famine in the land. Bit then God literally answers that question in the text.

He says, "You may ask, What will we eat in the seventh year if we do not plant or harvest? I will send such a blessing in the sixth year that it will produce enough for three years."

    Three years is more than enough... Isn't that just like God. He doesn’t just say, "Trust Me."He says, "Trust Me I've already built in the provision." And Not just enough to barely get by, more than enough.

    I don't know how to rest. Not really. It would drive me crazy not to be busy. I like solving things. I like making plans. I like figuring it out. But there have been seasons in ministry where God orchestrated a break for us, not because I asked for it, but because I didn't know how to take one.

   Doors closed. Schedules shifted.Things slowed down. And I didn't love it at all. But He provided. He didn't leave us hanging.

Provision still came. Direction still came.

    Sunday God gave me a word for what we're walking through right now. On a personal level in our own lives.

One word.

"Wait." That was it.

     We were doing what we knew to do. Trying to figure things out. Trying to make things work. Trying to find a solution. And He said, Stop.

    Wait.

Stop striving, which is hard for me, I do it in my sleep. Stop trying to piece it together yourself. Just wait on Me.

And I will tell you, I'm still waiting.

    Nothing has magically shifted overnight. The answers haven't fully come yet. But I'm choosing to trust Him to come through. Leviticus 25 reminded me that if He says don't plant, He has already has the provision waiting for me..Leviticus 26 reminded me that walking with Him, even in obedience that feels uncomfortable, brings life. Chapter 26 talks about blessing when they walk with Him. His presence among them. Peace. Provision. But it also talks about what happens when they ignore Him.

    And the best part is that He keeps giving them chances. "If after all this you still won't listen" I mess up alot. I get it wrong. I make mistakes. Sometimes I don't listen well. But he keeps giving me chances. He's patient with me.

   That's a Father who wants His people close.

And waiting isn't a punishment. It's protection. He knows what's ahead before I do. It's my trust being stretched, my faith growing. 

So I'm waiting.

Not perfectly.

Not without moments of wanting to fix it, sometimes I can't help myself.

But I'm waiting.

Because if He commands rest, He covers it with provision.

And if He says wait....

He’s already working in ways I can't see yet.

That's just like Him. That's my God.

Love Pastor Mandy 

Ark of Hope Ministry 

Daily reading Leviticus 25-26