A tragedy has befallen my household.  Yes, we've had a death in the family.  My electric tea kettle is no more.  I know I could just heat water in a pot on the stove or even use the stovetop tea kettle, but it's not the same.  I loved my electric tea kettle.  With it, I was guaranteed a steaming cup of tea in just a few minutes.  No fuss.  No mess.  Just boiling water to make the perfect cup of tea.  And let me tell you, I take my tea very seriously!

This was actually our second electric tea kettle.  Our first one lasted for quite a while and then died when the switch stopped functioning.  We replaced it with the same model because it does such a wonderful job, but now, after many months (or maybe years, who knows?), tea kettle #2 has kicked the bucket.  So sad!

When I notified Jason of the issue, he assured me he would see if there was something he could fix, such as a loose wire or faulty connection.  Then he said, "It's a shame we threw the other one out.  We might have been able to use it for parts."  I agreed but then reminded him that our attic was full to overflowing with "junk" we placed up there just in case we might need it again.  Sometimes, it's best to simply throw things away.

“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven. . .A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together. . . ”

Yes, the Bible makes it clear there are things we should throw away.  Our cares. Our worries.  Our insecurities.  Our sin.  The things that weigh us down.  Bad attitudes.  Careless words.  Yes, our lives need a regular spring cleaning to keep us empty of the things that hinder us from becoming all that God wants us to be, all that we could be.  However, the Bible also warns us that there are some things we should never cast away, like our confidence.

“Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. ”

Ironically enough, it seems our confidence is easier to toss aside than all the clutter gathering dust in our homes and vehicles.  And we do it many times without even realizing what we've done.  The fact is, we throw away our confidence in God every time we weary of waiting on Him.  Sometimes that means we take matters into our own hands.  Other times, it involves us throwing up our hands in utter defeat.  Either way, we've declared (by our actions) that God cannot be trusted, and it's up to us to make things happen.

It's tempting to give up when you've walked faithfully and followed God's commands but seem to be getting nowhere.  It's discouraging when you've prayed and prayed for that loved one, but their health doesn't improve.  It's frustrating when you give God your problems then feel like He's not doing anything about them.  Waiting on God's timing has to be one of the hardest things to do.  We feel so helpless and almost irresponsible.  Shouldn't we be doing something? Isn't there more we could do than pray and wait?

Sometimes God will give us tasks to do to aid in the situation, but most times, our "help" only hinders God from doing His work.  For example, let's say God led you to plant a seed.  You followed His instructions by digging a hole, dropping the seed, covering it with nourishing dirt and watering it.  After that, you were told to simply wait.  Day after day, you went out to check on the progress, but each day, your heart broke as you saw no evidence of the beautiful flower you planted.  What if you grew tired of waiting and decided to help God out by digging back into the dirt and seeing what the seed needed?  Likely, you would either destroy the plant or hinder its growth in some way.  In the end, your interference only slowed the process or kept the flower from blooming altogether.  If you had left it alone, God would have brought forth the bloom in His own time.

Waiting is hard.  I won't deny it.  And I will readily admit, I'm not a patient waiter.  But God promises great reward if we will hold fast and keep trusting in Him even when we don't see anything happening.  When we throw away our confidence, we lose everything.  We give up on our dreams and goals.  We lose our momentum.  And it means that all the time we've spent waiting was wasted because we didn't see it through to the end.

My friend, hold on to your confidence.  Don't lose faith in God and what He has promised to do for you.  He is faithful.  He is true.  He has never broken a promise, and He never will.  He is working on your behalf and will reward you for your waiting.  Don't give up!

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