I have a bit of an addiction going through old journals. Once I start I just can’t stop, kind of like Pringles.

I recently relocated one of my favorite journals of all time. This particular journal is from Fall of 2009 to the beginning of 2010, the season of life I was in at this time was especially sweet. I was learning so much about God, there was immense amount of freedom taking place in my heart and I was falling in love for the first time.

When I opened up the second section of this journal today, it marked the beginning of me learning these 8 simple words:

Eagerly Wait, Passionately Pursue, Trust in the Trying.

Over the course of about 15 days in December 2009 God so engrained these words in me. To this day those eight seemingly simple words are a mantra for me. Every time I want to jump ahead in a situation He reminds me of these words. In that season those words were written everywhere. Speaking them out. Making sure they became apart of me and to this day those words come to me in hard times.

Eagerly Wait

In December 2009 God began speaking to me about waiting on His timing and I heard the phrase “eagerly wait”. To me those words did not belong together and honestly somewhat angered me hearing them together. I decided I would dig deeper in a concordance to see what I could find. Verses on waiting were abundant but much to my surprise there are several verses that explicitly call us to EAGERLY wait. One day I will do a post on all the verses I found but for now I will just highlight Romans 8:25 which stuck out most.

 Romans 8:25, which states, “But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with patience.” (HCSB – emphasis mine)

To me wait and eager didn’t go hand in hand especially when we were to do it patiently. Thankfully, with God all things are possible and so at that time I began to pray, “God teach me what it means to wait eagerly”.  I am not sure I have mastered it quite yet but I am trying.

Passionately Pursue

I tend to be someone who is FULL of passion. Always working to give everything my all, no matter what. I am pretty sure that this is why God added these two words into the mix for me. I don’t have a particular verse for it but I believe all of us are called to passionately pursue God and His will. When you are passionate about something your whole heart is in it and I think that is the key.

Trust in the Trying

For me those four words were the most difficult to swallow. Trust seems to be a reoccurring word in my walk with the Lord. I know He is faithful but for some reason I still find it hard to fully trust at times.  One of my favorite passages of scripture about trust is Isaiah 40:31. “but those who trust in the LORD will renew their strength;  they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not faint.” (HCSB – emphasis mine) What an amazing promise that is, when we trust God will move on our behalf.

My prayer in that season was . . .and still is at times . . .

Lord, teach me patience as I eagerly wait.
Teach me self-control as I passionately pursue 
what it is You have destined for me. 
And train me to truly trust in You with all of my heart,
with all of me.

All I know is when I do these three things I am actively giving God more room to move. Life is simpler when I remember to Eagerly Wait, Passionately Pursue and Trust in the Trying. Probably because I release control and allow God to have His rightful place.