“The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him.”
(Lamentations 3:25)
I think most of us are willing to agree that it's not easy to wait. We usually want things to happen quickly. We are used to what might be called the “remote-control” mentality; just press the button and the garage door will open, the computer will start, the AC will cool the room in a few minutes, etc. It's just so easy for us to expect things to go in like manner with God. But they don't!
God's ways are different! He doesn't have a “remote control”! We usually want Him to do it our way. That's not wise! I have experienced that, with God, the best thing to do is to leave the choice, the timing, and the way totally and completely to Him! Well, after all, you don't expect to be wiser than God, do you?! When we refuse to wait for God and follow our own thoughts, emotions, or instincts, we suffer tremendously and the consequences are usually deadly.
However, it is often hard for me to just wait for Him. God's timing is really different than mine. I say, I need it now; He says, Wait! I try to have it my own way. Then I find myself in a mess. Again, this is not easy.
So, is it just about waiting passively? Should you not do anything but remain idle waiting for God to act on your behalf?! Though this might be the case sometimes, I believe our waiting time should be active and fruitful. There is much we can do and learn during these times of waiting.
First of all, it is time to pray proactively. It's a great opportunity to share our thoughts, feelings, and struggles with our Heavenly Father. This is such a great privilege and joy. He wants us to be in fellowship with Him and loves to listen to us. These words of David encourage us, “I waited patiently for the LORD; and He bowed down to me, and heard my cry.” (Psalm 40:1).
It is also time to ask God for His guidance. God's “good, acceptable, perfect” will is revealed to us when we are willing to wait. Sometimes, God actually does wait and does not make known His will to us immediately in order to test our willingness to know it and whether we are earnest in seeking it or not.
Second, our waiting time is our learning time. We learn who God is and we learn who we are. It's time to discover afresh God's wisdom, sovereignty, power, goodness, grace, and love. It's time to see how small, weak, and unwise we are.
Third, “our waiting time is God's preparation time”, as Dr. Charles Stanley well puts it. Sometimes we are not ready yet for what God has in store for us, so we are to wait patiently while God prepares His blessings and prepares us to receive them.
Fourth, our waiting time is a time of strength. As the Bible teaches us, those who wait for God are not left to wither like an abandoned flower, but “those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31). This does not only imply spiritual strength, but it also extends to physical energy.
Fifth, our waiting time is God's action time. The Bible encourages us that our God is a God “who works for him who waits for Him.” (Isaiah 64:4). In many ways, while we are waiting for Him, God acts on our behalf. It takes faith to trust Him with our circumstances. Down through the ages, many saints of God experienced this blessed truth; God acts on our behalf.
My dear reader, maybe you are going through a tough time right now. Perhaps you have been wronged by someone or been treated unfairly at work, or anything else... Listen to the Word of God, “Do not say, I will repay evil; wait on the LORD, and He will save you.” (Proverbs 20:22).
Finally, I would like to say, Wait! Wait! Wait! Do not make any decision nor take any action unless you are positively sure it's God's will for you now. I would like to encourage you and myself with the blessed words of the Psalmist, “Wait for the LORD; be strong and let your heart take courage: yea, wait for the LORD.” (Psalm 27:14). May our good God grant us His grace so we may earnestly seek His will, waiting for Him to reveal it, and be ready to do whatever He wants, whenever He chooses, and however He pleases!
First of all, it is time to pray proactively. It's a great opportunity to share our thoughts, feelings, and struggles with our Heavenly Father. This is such a great privilege and joy. He wants us to be in fellowship with Him and loves to listen to us. These words of David encourage us, “I waited patiently for the LORD; and He bowed down to me, and heard my cry.” (Psalm 40:1).
It is also time to ask God for His guidance. God's “good, acceptable, perfect” will is revealed to us when we are willing to wait. Sometimes, God actually does wait and does not make known His will to us immediately in order to test our willingness to know it and whether we are earnest in seeking it or not.
Second, our waiting time is our learning time. We learn who God is and we learn who we are. It's time to discover afresh God's wisdom, sovereignty, power, goodness, grace, and love. It's time to see how small, weak, and unwise we are.
Third, “our waiting time is God's preparation time”, as Dr. Charles Stanley well puts it. Sometimes we are not ready yet for what God has in store for us, so we are to wait patiently while God prepares His blessings and prepares us to receive them.
Fourth, our waiting time is a time of strength. As the Bible teaches us, those who wait for God are not left to wither like an abandoned flower, but “those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31). This does not only imply spiritual strength, but it also extends to physical energy.
Fifth, our waiting time is God's action time. The Bible encourages us that our God is a God “who works for him who waits for Him.” (Isaiah 64:4). In many ways, while we are waiting for Him, God acts on our behalf. It takes faith to trust Him with our circumstances. Down through the ages, many saints of God experienced this blessed truth; God acts on our behalf.
My dear reader, maybe you are going through a tough time right now. Perhaps you have been wronged by someone or been treated unfairly at work, or anything else... Listen to the Word of God, “Do not say, I will repay evil; wait on the LORD, and He will save you.” (Proverbs 20:22).
Finally, I would like to say, Wait! Wait! Wait! Do not make any decision nor take any action unless you are positively sure it's God's will for you now. I would like to encourage you and myself with the blessed words of the Psalmist, “Wait for the LORD; be strong and let your heart take courage: yea, wait for the LORD.” (Psalm 27:14). May our good God grant us His grace so we may earnestly seek His will, waiting for Him to reveal it, and be ready to do whatever He wants, whenever He chooses, and however He pleases!
