Strength in being still

I'm reading through warren Wiersbe's commentary and study of the books of Ruth and Esther. What hits me hard is the quote "her strength is to be still". What I get from this is that it is an honorable thing to the Lord to be a woman who waits on His timing.

Ruth said, "Wherever you die, I will die, and that is where I will be buried. May the LORD's worst punishment come upon me if I let anything but death separate me from you!” (Ruth 1:17 GNT) which was risky for her bc 1) she was disobeying her mother in law and 2) they were poor widows bound to starve and 3) she was a Moabitess in an unwelcoming town. The Lord gave her the strength to make a bold decision.

Esther said this in her most defining moment: “Go and get all the Jews in Susa together; hold a fast and pray for me. Don't eat or drink anything for three days and nights. My servant women and I will be doing the same. After that, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. If I must die for doing it, I will die.” (Esther 4:16 GNT)

Both of these women had to wait and persevere, with the threat of an unknown future, to glorify God with their stories. When the time came, the decisions they made proved Gods promises to be real and to preserve Israel so that Jesus could be born and fulfill the prophecies.

So in a time of life where I am not sure where I'm going next, and really wanting to be a wife and mom, these stories bring hope and courage to my heart. Courage to continue to serve Him regardless of where I am because I will reach that point like Esther when Mordecai told her "Yet who knows—maybe it was for a time like this that you were made queen!” (Esther 4:14 GNT)

NOT saying that I will be Queen of anything per se, lol. But I know that I will be a 'leader of women' in my life. That's what the Lord has spoken to me. This could manifest in a lot of ways, but I am compelled to be steadfast and take heart and wait on the Lord until he reveals to me what he means :)

"Gods timing is always perfect and He sees to it that no good deed is ever wasted" Warren Wiersbe

Wait

I don't know who wrote this but a dear friend sent it to me. God needed to speak these words to me and it was perfect timing :)

Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried:
Quietly, patiently, lovingly God replied.
I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate, and the Master so gently said, “Child, You must wait.”
“And Lord, You promised that if we believe
We need but to ask, and we shall receive.
And, Lord I’ve been asking, and this is my cry:
‘I’m weary of asking! I need a reply!”
Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate
As my Master replied once again, “you must wait.”
SO, I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut
And Grumbled to God, “So, I’m waiting..for what!?”
He seemed, then, to kneel
And His eyes wept with mine,
And He tenderly said, “I would give you a sign.
I could shake the heavens, and darken the sun.
I could raise the dead, and cause mountains to run.
“All you seek, I could give, and pleased you would be.
You would have what you want—
But, you wouldn’t know Me.
You’d not know the depth of My love for each saint;
You’d not know the power I give to the faint;
“You’d not learn to see through the clouds of despair;
You’d Not learn to trust just by knowing I’m there;
You’d not know the joy of resting in Me; When darkness and silence were all you could see.
“You’d never experience that fullness of love
As the peace of My Spirit descends like a dove;
You’d know that I give and I save, for a start,
But you’d not know the depth of the beat of My heart.
“The glow of my comfort late into the night,
The faith that I give when you walk without sight,
The depth that’s beyond getting just what you asked
Of an infinite God, who makes what you have last.
“You’d never know, should your pain quickly flee,
What it means that, ‘My grace is sufficient for thee.’
Yes, your dreams for your loved one overnight would come true,
But, oh, the loss if I lost what I’m doing in you!
“So be silent, My Child, and in time you will see
The greatest of gifts is to get to know Me.
And though oft’ may My answers seem terribly late,
My most precious answer of all is still, ‘Wait.’”