DeVon Franklin - The Wait Devotional: Daily Inspirations for Finding the Love of Your Life and the Life You Love

Howard Books

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Copyright 2017 by DeVon Franklin and Meagan Good

Scripture quotations marked (ESV) taken from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked (KJV) taken from The Holy Bible, King James Version. Cambridge Edition: 1769.

Scripture quotations marked (NASB) taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked (NCV) taken from the New Century Version, copyright 2005 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked (NIV) taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV, copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

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First Howard Books hardcover edition October 2017

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Interior design by Davina Mock-Maniscalco

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.

ISBN 978-1-5011-8989-0

ISBN 978-1-5011-8990-6 (ebook)

W hen The Wait was published in 2016, we had no idea how many people were going to read the book. We wanted to tell our story of deliberately choosing celibacy until marriage and the many ways God blessed us through and because of it. We hoped that our story would encourage people and inspire them to trust that waiting, rather than giving in to instant gratification, would lead to stronger relationships and deeper faith in God.

We were blown away by the way God used that book, and we are humbled to have been a part of the work He is doing. A number of readers have told us how the book inspired and encouraged them. We love hearing these stories, but it is God who deserves all the glory here. We didnt invent the concept of waiting. We just shared the way it blessed us.

Heres the thing, though. Even though we know The Wait works, its not always fun. And even when you really want to obey God and trust in His timing, it can be extremely challenging to make the choice to wait each and every day.

Thats where this book comes in. In this daily devotional, weve broken The Wait into short daily readings. That way, you can think and pray about a short section of the book and really work on applying it to your life that day . Weve also added a scripture for each day, as well as a question for reflection and a short prayer. This book can be used individually, or you and a partner can read it together. Our hope is that these short sections will allow you to grow closer to God and will deepen your commitment to wait, day by dayknowing that every day is a day of healing, hope, and wholeness.

During our marriage, we have both been blessed to work on some incredible projects and see our careers grow. But whats most incredible is the perspective that time brings. From where we stand now, we can see the ways God was preparing us through that time of waiting. Now we can see how the strengths and skills we learned in that period of obediencesuch as patience, and trust, and faith that we want the best for each otherhave equipped us for the challenges of married life.

We pray that these daily devotions will deepen your faith in God and help lead you through your Wait and into the blessings God has for you on the other side.

DeVon and Meagan, 2017

The L ORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him.

Lamentations 3:25 NASB

A s you begin this journey, youre probably asking yourself just exactly what is The Wait?

The Wait is a conscious choice to pursue delayed gratification in the areas of life specifically related to relationships. Its a decision to get your mind right, to figure out who you want to be and what you want out of life, and to use your time and energy to become the best version of yourself. Put simply:

To Wait is to delay the temptation for instant gratification in relationships in order to get what you really want in life and become the person you truly want to be.

That starts with saying no to sex. The Wait isnt 100 percent about sex, but thats where it begins. So, lets be really, really clear on this:

One of the keys to practicing The Wait is giving up sex.

For many Christians and non-Christians alike, the idea of giving up sex is too outrageous and impossible to consider. We get that. Yet based on our experience, we still believe that practicing The Wait until marriage will set you up for success and align you with Gods perfect will for your life in all areas.

We are living proof... The Wait works.

Now that you have a clear definition for what The Wait is, what are your thoughts? How do you think societyor at least your circle of itviews the concept of The Wait?

Lord God, while the idea of waiting is nothing new to You, its not a popular one in this world today. Open up my mind to Your truth as I work through this study and learn to wait for Your will in all areas of my life. Amen.

Gods will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin.

1 Thessalonians 4:3 NLT

I ts just a fact. Human beings love sex. We think about it, talk about, it, read about it, and spend a great deal of our time, energy, and money trying to get it. Because of this, sex makes us do some truly stupid things.

From a spiritual standpoint, the Bible says to stay away from all sexual sin. But people (Christian or not) are going to have sex. We find our reasons and justifications. The faith-minded might rationalize that waiting doesnt apply if youre dating the one you believe youre going to marry. Physically, its just hard to resist those hormones. And socially, even the mention of going without sex is met with snickers and stares.

Theres nothing wrong with sex or sexuality. God created both for the enjoyment of married couples. But for too long, theres been an ugly stigma associated with sex, the church, and where it all fits in the world we live in. Were not sex experts, and The Wait isnt about religious reasons not to have sex. Its our story, and we want to share what has worked for us. When we took sex off the table, our minds were clearer, our access to God was crisper, and we were able to make better decisions in areas of our relationship that werent related to sex at all. The Wait is about getting control of your life, reducing the dating drama, and avoiding desperate relationship choices so that you can make better decisions about your future.