Perhaps Jesus could have added one more:
“And when you see your furniture being rearranged multiple times, your wife is
pregnant.”
Ashley is currently pregnant with our third
child, and she is in all-out nesting mode. I’m never quite sure what I’m going
to encounter when I get home at the end of the day. Last week she took our
entire bed apart so she could place a new rug under it. Talk about some heavy
duty moving for a woman with child.
I have asked her multiple times to cease the
strenuous work of moving furniture while she is pregnant, but I’m learning
she’s going to do it anyway. She seems to be driven by some sort of momma
instinct to get the house in perfect order before the baby arrives. Her crowning achievement happened while she
was nine months pregnant with Sophie—she could barely move and would waddle
around the house—but she still managed to rearrange two heavy couches while I
was at work.
The idea of nesting, while relatively
unfamiliar to me, is so important. At its most basic level, it’s the
intentional act of preparing the environment for the arrival of a child. Our
baby boy inside the womb has no idea what he’s going to experience after he’s
born, but Ashley works diligently to ensure everything is ready.
I think God operates in a similar manner. He
knows precisely what His children are going to need in the next season of life,
and He’s faithful to work ahead of us to ensure everything is ready. In other
words, God is preparing the environment for our arrival.
Can you imagine how bizarre it would be if a
baby in the womb was caught up in constant worry regarding the future? What am I going to eat once this umbilical
cord is removed? Where am I going to sleep once I’m violently propelled from my
cozy womb? It goes without saying that the baby doesn’t have to worry about
it, because the parents are taking care of the details.
We can have complete confidence that God is
taking care of the details of our future. He is working in ways that we may be
blind to. In fact, I believe He smiles at what we can’t see. He’s preparing the
job, house, spouse, etc. Why is it so hard for us to rest in the knowledge of
this? When we work to manipulate and control our future, the results will
always be the same—anxiety, stress, and frustration. God patiently reminds us
there is a better way. He invites us to adopt a different posture—a posture of
discovery.
God spoke to my heart a few years ago and
said, Gabe, you have the joy of
discovering your destiny, not controlling it. While I haven’t walked this
out perfectly, it has made a lasting impact on how I view my future. I can
trust that God has already prepared everything for me, and my role is to keep
in step with Him and discover His plans.
Not only is God preparing the environment
for you, but He’s also preparing you for the environment. We know how dangerous
it is for a baby to be born too prematurely. A baby’s lungs have to develop
before they are ready to handle the fresh air in their new environment. In the same way, God is intentionally working
to develop you for what He knows is coming.
When I have experienced seasons of
discontentment and impatience, God has consistently reminded me that He is preparing
me for the future. Like a horse standing in the starting gate before a race, I
just want the bell to ring and the door to open. God, on the other hand, says, Sure, I want you to run, but let me get you
ready.
There is peace available to each of us TODAY,
but it requires trust. There is no other way around it. The same God who
breathed the stars into existence is fully capable of preparing your tomorrow.
Rest. Be at peace.
Let’s leave the heavy lifting to Him. 
