Dear Steve,
My husband and I are believing for children, but have not had any yet after several years of trying.
The Bible is full of promises for having children, God has given both of us a desire to have children and raise a family, and has spoken the same prophetic word through multiple people about the specifics of our children, so, in spite of not having any children yet, we continue to choose to believe the promises of God and pray and believe Him for the children He has promised to us.
The question I have is, what do we do in the meantime–How can we best walk in faith during a season of waiting on God’s promises?
We continue to believe and pray, but I’m wondering if we should be doing something more to walk out our faith in this. Faith without works is dead, right? We obviously know not to go the route Abraham and Sarah did when they had Ishmael birthed by Sarah’s handmaiden–that didn’t turn out too well in the end! But, should we be doing something more like preparing our home for children?
What’s the best thing to do in the season of “Hurry up and wait!” ? How can we best honor God with our faith?
AK
Dear AK,
Thanks for inquiring how you might “best walk in faith during a season of waiting on God’s promises,” especially after several encouragements through multiple people.
Your question of how to best honor God with your faith during the time of waiting is a wonderful indication of you and your husband having beautiful desire to participate with God in your preparation for parenthood. Rather than answer with seeming platitudes such as “God’s timing is perfect,” etc., I would like to offer a perspective that may add to the encouragement you have already received from your friends.
One of the “Treasures From His Table,” that you will find on our resource website at www.papasteve.org/fathers-workshop” is this:
“The Intensity of your situation is directly proportional to God’s level of trust in you.”
When considering this principle coupled with some understanding of a certain aspect of God’s view of family, namely that the care of all children is in some measure the responsibility of every adult, there emerges a possibility for you and your husband. It could very well be that God is inviting you to consider caring for a precious orphan or newborn that needs adoption by loving foster parents. He may be wanting to turn your attention to what you can do now in preparation for natural children coming your way in the future, and your wait has been a demonstration of his trust in your hearts of compassion.
In other words, he may want to bless you with the care of one (or more!) of his precious ones that needs parents now! The goal would involve not just preparation, but rather imminent blessing in addition to what is coming to you in the future. The “delay” season does not have to be void of joy when you can feel the Father’s pleasure in you sharing in his care for a precious one who needs you.
When natural children come along, won’t they be blessed to have an older sibling in the household? It could be that God is not delaying your joy, but rather seeking to multiply your joy!
Blessings to you and your husband as you feel God’s pleasure because of your loving hearts,
Steve