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J DFM 2.2 (2012): 76-77
Equipping the Generations:
The Inward War of Waiting
KIMBERLY CAMPBELL
Kimberly
Campbell
(M.Div.,
Southeastern
Baptist
Theological
Seminary)
is a curriculum writer for
Treasuring Christ. She is
married to Eric, and she
enjoys writing, reading,
speaking, running, cooking,
traveling, and taking
photographs. Kim blogs at
http://www.kd316.com.
There is a war constantly raging inside
us. Paul shares this truth with the
believers in Rome, 1 and I share the
same truth with you, from my experience
of being a new wife living in the
waiting period before motherhood.
The two opponents in this war are
anxiety and rest. Both of them contended
within me even before I got
married. I remember from the time
I was a teenager pondering over the
questions: Will I find “Mr. Right”?
What will my dress look like? Where
will I go on my honeymoon?
Once I did get married, long after I
started asking these questions, similar
questions continued to persist: Will we
have children? When will we have children?
Is our house or my husband’s salary
big enough to sustain our lifestyle
with children? What if we have trouble
conceiving? Will we be infertile?
One might think these questions
would stop as I prepare to enter motherhood
but they do not: Will I carry
my baby to term? Will the baby be
healthy? What are we going to name
the baby? Will he or she ever come to know Christ?
These questions constantly repeat themselves.
God, however, has provided the answer to all
these questions: rest. The importance of rest is taught
throughout Scripture, starting in Genesis when God
rested after completing his creation work (2:.1-3). The
psalmist says to be still and know that he is God (Ps
46:10a). Our rest is rooted in God’s care for us and his
sovereign control over our lives. The command—“do
not fear”—occurs frequently in the Bible (e.g., Gen
15:1; Num 14:9; Deut 1:21; Mat 10:31; 1 Pet 3:14; Rev
2:10). Paul exhorts the Philippian believers to rest in the
peace of Christ and not be anxious about anything (Phil
4:6). The circumstances we find ourselves in do not need
to control us. God has bought rest and comfort for us by
sending his Son Jesus to pay our full penalty. If he died
and rose again, then he also can take care of every situation
we face on any given day. We rest by letting God be
in control. The following are a few of the Scriptures that
are most helpful to me when I cry to my husband and
share with him these questions:
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything
by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving
let your requests be known to God. And the
peace of God which surpasses all understanding,
will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ
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