I don’t do very well when God makes me wait. Infact, I don’t do well with waiting for something as simple as checking out at the grocery store.
Before choosing my line, I often look at each cashier and see how quickly they are working. I look at the items in their carts to see how much they have left to check out. With this information, I choose the line with the greatest probability of getting me in and out as soon as possible. Even after that, I become irritated when I find the line next to me is now moving quicker than the line I have chosen. Do you struggle with waiting?
So what does it mean to wait on the Lord?
Psalms 27: 14 says, Wait for the Lord's help. Be strong and brave, and wait for the Lord's help. (ERV)
The hebrew word for wait is “qavah”. Which means to look for, to hope, or to expect. It suggests an active state of eagerly waiting for God to act. So to wait on the Lord we need to relinquish any control that we may think we have over the situation and leave it solely in God’s capable hands. Waiting is a faith exercise: we wait expectantly for what we cannot yet see.
EXAMPLES OF WAITING IN THE BIBLE
Many men and women of the bible went through waiting seasons in their lives. Abraham waited 25 years for the promised son, Isaac. Joseph waited 13 years before he was placed in a position of authority. Hannah spent year after year praying for a child. Elijah waited 3 years for the Lord to bring rain on the land. And even Jesus waited 30 years before he started to preach the good news to the people.
DON’T GIVE UP HOPE WHILE YOU ARE WAITING
While we wait on God, we must resist the temptation to give up on our hopes for what he has promised us. Satan wants us to give up. Here are some ways that Satan can trick us into giving up.
- He will tell you it’s not going to happen
- He will tell you it’s going to happen quickly and when it doesn’t you give up on it
- He will use a delay to make you think that God is not capable and that you are crazy for believing that God can
Many times I have wanted to give up but God has encouraged me with his word.
Ephesians 3: 20 which says, "With God's power working in us, he can do much, much more than anything we can ask or think of." (ERV)
Verses like this one can give us something to cling to when we are feeling discouraged. Ask God to give you a verse to cling to while you are waiting for him to move in your life. Focusing on God’s word can help us in the waiting seasons. It can give us the peace and strength we need to keep going forward.
BENEFITS OF WAITING ON GOD
There are many benefits to waiting on God. Here are some of them.
We grow in our faith
Waiting gives us endurance and strength
It builds our relationship with God
It allows us to focus more on God and heavenly things rather than our circumstances
We read more of the bible
We will reap a reward (Galatians 6:9)
CONCLUSION
Waiting is hard. But if we learn to focus our attention on God and his word. Then our waiting season can be a time of learning and growing. We can even be happy while we wait knowing God is in control and that he will take care of us (Philippians 4:19). Remember His plans for us are for good, not for harm(Jeremiah 29:11).
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