Please join us in welcoming Tracie Heskett, a valued supporter and proofreader of Mountain Brook Ink books. She has a beautiful devotional for us this week on the importance of waiting, trust, and focusing on God.
My soul yearns for You in the night; in the morning my spirit longs for You.”
Isaiah 26:9
Part of what it means to be a writer is learning to wait. A couple of years ago I was on “sabbatical”—not by my choice, but by God’s. I was in between book contracts for a period of months, and during that waiting time I did a Bible study on listening and seeking God.
Part of what it means to be a writer is learning to wait. - @turtletc Share on XWhen we open our eyes and ears to seek Him, we see all that He has done. Seeking requires trust. Trust is believing someone is honest and reliable. We have faith and confidence in the one we trust. Trust enables us to focus on God and that in turn brings peace. When we have a deep relationship of trust, our hearts echo Isaiah’s words as we seek God day and night.
Our trust in God helps us fulfill our role in His eternal plan. We place our trust in the Rock because of who He is.
We seek Him ~
- to walk on His paths
- because He makes our way smooth.
- to ask Him to lead us out of the fields of weeds into which we wander.
We wait for Him as we walk in His law. These two actions go hand in hand; we cannot walk with Him unless we are willing to wait for Him to reveal Himself. We cannot—will not have the ability to—wait for Him to reveal Himself unless we are willing to become familiar with His law or Word.
When we are waiting, we often seek what we think we desire. If we are walking with God, we will turn to seek the desire of our hearts, which is His name. When we consider all that is wrapped up in His Name, it truly meets our deepest desires.
- He is I AM: we seek for meaning in our existence.
- He is the Wonderful Counselor: we long for guidance in our daily lives.
- He is the Prince of Peace: we hope for peace in our struggles.
- He is the Lord Almighty: even though we fight for control, we want to know someone is in charge who will watch over us and take care of us.
He establishes peace for us. We cannot do it ourselves. As we seek God, we discover who He is and what He has done. In Him we find hope and strength; we can do nothing without Him. And the waiting becomes joy, as we watch His hand at work in our lives.
Additional Readings:
Isaiah 26:1-12
James 1:17
Hebrews 13:8
Proverbs 3:5-6
Psalm 37:4
Ephesians 2:14, 17-18
Tracie Heskett develops and writes curriculum and teacher resource books for educational publishers. She holds a Master of Education degree in Curriculum and Instruction and has written over 50 teacher resource books, a textbook, and other educational materials for national educational publishers. She also writes Bible study materials and speaks and works with women’s Bible study groups in a large multi-campus church. Tracie presents workshops for Oregon Christian writers and a local ACFW chapter. She is currently Vice President and One-Day Conference Director of OCW, current secretary and past treasurer of the Portland/Vancouver ACFW chapter, and co-directed Writers Weekend at the Beach for over 5 years. Her passion is sharing resources to encourage and equip others in their life and work. Tracie lives with her husband in the Pacific Northwest and enjoys quilting, hiking, and playing in the kitchen and with her grown twin sons whenever possible.
