WAITING

Waiting is a huge part of our everyday life where sometimes we tend to get impatient, especially if it occurs several times a day.   We wait at the Doctor’s office, in line at the grocery store, on the freeway, fast food lines, on medical reports, sporting events and a host of other things.   Waiting can be exciting or it can be a challenge.   How we wait can determine the outcome of a situation for the good or for the bad. 

For those of you who don’t know this, I recently decided to eat a certain restaurant.   Because of their enticing advertisements, I was excited to sample the food and after anxiously anticipating a mouth-watering meal, I noticed that it seemed that it was taking an unusual amount of time to be served.   As a result, I began to complain about the delay.   And the longer it took, the more I complained.   And to top it all off, the food wasn’t that good and I complained about that.

After departing the restaurant and taking our usual route home, we came upon a traffic accident.   As the road was blocked with mangled vehicles and law enforcement officers, we were forced to alter our route to get home where we learned that it was a 3-car fatality accident.   Later that night as I was about to go to sleep, the Lord revealed to me that the delayed food delivery at the restaurant served the purpose of preventing us from being in that accident.   It was like when the Lord used a donkey to delay the journey of the prophet Balaam allowing him to escape certain destruction. "And Balaam rose up in the morning, and saddled his ass, and went with the princes of Moab.   And the ass saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand:  and the ass turned aside out of the way, and went into the field: and Baalaam smote the ass, to turn her into the way.   And when the ass saw the angel of the LORD, she thrust herself unto the wall, and crushed Balaam's foot against the wall:  and he smote her again.   And when the ass saw the angel of the LORD, she fell down under Balaam:  and Balaam’s anger was kindled, and he smote the ass with a staff.   And the LORD opened the mouth of the ass,   and she said unto Balaam, What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times?   And Balaam said unto the ass, Because thou hast mocked me:  I would there were a sword in mine hand, for now would I kill thee.   And the ass said unto Balaam, Am not I thine ass, upon which thou hast ridden ever since I was thine unto this day?    was I ever wont to do so unto thee?    And he said, Nay.   Then the LORD opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand:   and he bowed down his head, and fell flat on his face.  And Balaam said unto the angel of the LORD, I have sinned;   for I knew not that thou stoodest in the way against me:  now therefore, if it displease thee, I will get me back again.”   (Numbers 22: 22-34)

In like manner, after recalling my frustration and complaining at having to wait for the food, I had to repent.   I began to thank God that He spared my life.  This attitude of gratitude soon shifted into a wonderful worship session for the unparalleled privilege of hearing from God.   And though the Lord’s intervention was a marvelous occurrence, I was praising Him for what He had revealed to me.   I understood that the complaining was bad but the Lord turned it into good by showing me myself.   That glorious communion with the Lord was more important to me than the saving of my life and I couldn’t help but glorify Him for being the ever-present, ever-loving, all-powerful, all-knowing, never-failing, kind and compassionate Creator of the universe.   “And therefore will the LORD wait, that He may be gracious unto you, and therefore will He be exalted, that He may have mercy upon you:  for the LORD is a God of judgment:   blessed are all they that wait for Him.”   (Isaiah 34: 18)

Waiting on God is an essential part of our walk.   It is times of seeking Him, praying, praising and trusting Him as we stand firm on His promises with our gaze solely on Him.   It is in the waiting that we find our peace, patience, perseverance and strength.   “The LORD is good unto them that wait for Him, to the soul that seeketh Him.   It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD.”   (Lamentation 3: 25 & 26)

The story of Joseph was about a life of disappointments.   Being betrayed by his own brothers, sold into slavery, falsely accused and thrown into prison were plenty of reasons to be discouraged.   But through it all he waited for and trusted in God.   And in the end, Joseph’s trust was rewarded.    God elevated him to a position of enormous influence to save his family and an entire nation.   As the psalmist said, “Wait on the LORD:  be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart:  wait, I say, on the LORD.”   (Psalm 27: 14)

Waiting allows God to work in ways we can’t even imagine.    And though prolonged seasons of waiting can produce emotional, physical and spiritual exhaustion, it is also the opportunity for rest, reflection and renewal.   Renewal of faith, trust, strength and hope.   “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength;  they shall mount up with wings as eagles;  they shall run, and not be weary;  and they shall walk, and not faint.”   (Isaiah 40: 31)

Never allow impatience to cause you to take matters into your own hands.   Let God be the God that He is.    An ever-faithful, always dependable provider of everything we need.   God doesn’t want us to doubt Him or lean on our own understanding, thereby limiting what He wants to do for us.  “Be still, and know that I am God...”   (Psalm 46: 10)  

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.”   (Isaiah 55: 8)  Running ahead of God, being impatient and stepping out of His will can potentially delay or stop blessings which can cause damage to oneself and others.   Abraham waited for 25 years after God promised him a son with his wife Sarah, ultimately resulting in the birth of Isaac.  But in the waiting Sarah convinced Abraham to have a child with her hand-maiden, Hagar the Egyptian.   A costly decision which caused massive problems.   A self-inflicted wound which could have been avoided by simply trusting God and waiting for Him to act.   How many of us are guilty of the same thing by trying too hard to fix things, manipulating outcomes or massaging circumstances and then reacting inappropriately from frustration from the train wreck we created instead of simply stepping back, releasing control and letting God do what He is going to do in His own way and in His own time?

For all of you who are acquainted with the sport of fishing, we know that it is a past-time of patience, persistence and perseverance as you can sit for hours and have nothing to show for it.   Jesus’ disciples experienced this as one night they went out fishing for the entire night but caught nothing.   “Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing.  They say unto him, We also go with thee.  They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately;  and that night they caught nothing.”   (John 21: 3)  

But after their seemingly fruitless foray finding nothing,  they found Jesus was on the shore WAITING FOR THEM, prepared to reveal  to them the secret to success.   “But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore:  but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus.   Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat?   They answered Him,  No.   And He said unto them,  Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find.  They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes.”   (John 21: 4-6)    

And as the 153 fish that were caught filled their empty net,  amazingly the net didn’t break.   “Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of great fishes, and hundred and fifty and three:  and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken.”   (John 21: 11)   The disciples had to learn the power of pausing for the presence of the Prince of Peace.   It was only after their overnight wait that they were able to achieve their goals, but also found out that when the season of fulfillment arrives and the windows of heaven are opened you will find that your cup runneth over as you are poured out a blessing that you cannot contain.    Longsuffering, coupled with faithful obedience to wise counsel and heavenly instruction will never lead you wrong.   The disciples experienced supernatural provision just by changing the location of the net.   It may not always make sense, but trusting God isn’t about logic, it’s about faith.

Waiting on the Lord offers many benefits for spiritual and personal growth.   In the waiting builds patience, endurance and trust in God’s sovereignty.   Spiritual maturity is a process of preparation, allowing God to develop you for Kingdom purposes.   In times of testing it builds faith, leading to a deeper reliance on God rather than on ourselves.

“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”   (Romans 10: 17)  Faith grows through an experiential relationship with God.   We learn by doing:   through action, experience, discovery and exploration.   Faith involves abandoning our reliance on our efforts and placing a total dependence upon God’s character, authority, promises and His Word.   Faith is following and trusting God completely no matter what the hardship, disaster, setback, failure or suffering is.   We stay connected to Him by prayer and meditation as we walk by faith and not by sight.

As Moses led the children of Israel out of bondage by faith, it took some waiting on God in order to witness the mighty miracles that God had promised him.   The plagues, the Passover, the Red Sea, the promised land was the result of God’s promises and man’s obedience.   Scripture emphasizes that waiting on God produces blessings at the end of the trials.   For the children of Israel, the blessing was the promised land.   In the waiting we put our hope and trust in God’s timing and provision as He strengthens us with endurance to face our challenges head on.   And as we press with our hearts solely on God, we have great expectations for Him to work on our behalf.   “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”   (Jeremiah 29: 11)

Every saint of God has demons to contend with so don’t listen to the devil’s lies and don’t be fooled by his tricks.   Your destruction is his highest priority.   When confronted by Satan’s distortion of God’s Word, Jesus (God’s Word) set him straight by speaking the truth about God’s Word.   And because Jesus is God’s Word, He knew His mission was to be our peace, our joy and our comfort.   He quiets our anxieties, calms our fears and gives us hope in the waiting.   “ I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in His word do I hope.   Let Israel hope in the LORD:  for with the LORD there is mercy, and with Him is plenteous redemption.”   (Psalm 130: 55 & 7)

There is nothing that calms us, grounds us, restores our soul, lifts our head, fixes our perspective, renews our hope, confirms our purpose and comforts our hearts like a daily dose of God’s Word.   “But Thou, O LORD, art a shield for me;  my glory, and the lifter up of mine head.   I laid me down and slept;  I awaked; for the LORD sustained me.”   (Psalm 3: 3 & 5)   We cannot love God and not love His Word.

We build confident trust in God’s character that, what He promised, He will always fulfill because He is faithful.   We are like faithful Father Abraham who  “…staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief;  but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;   And being fully persuaded that, what He had promised, He was able also to perform.”   (Romans 4: 20-21)   And as we wait we develop a deeper relationship along with a holy reverence as we surrender our will to do God’s will.   “My soul, wait thou only upon God;   for my expectation is from Him.   He only is my rock and my salvation:   He is my defence; I shall not be moved.   In God is my salvation and my glory:  the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.   Trust in Him at all times;  ye people, pour out your heart before Him:   God is a refuge for us.   Selah.”   (Psalm 62: 6-8)

In our seasons of waiting we have fallen and risen time and time again.   You are the living, breathing, fragments of your triumphs and your tragedies, all stitched together through hurt and hope and still you can come out victoriously in Jesus.   He is our Way Maker, Promise Keeper, water walking, storm stilling friend and Savior.   When we put Him first, you create a love story that reflects His glory.     Some of our most sacred moments aren’t loud and grand, but stillness.   A quiet heart and a nearness to God is when you feel His presence.   He speaks in low volumes when we have the right relationship with Him, but that connection manifests itself powerfully in a spiritual fashion.   It produces a greater willingness to trust and to wait on God because we’ve seen Him bring us out many times before.   “Our soul waiteth for the LORD:   He is our help and our shield.   For our heart shall rejoice in Him, because we have trusted in His holy name.   Let Thy mercy, O LORD, be upon us, according as we hope in Thee.”   (Psalm 33: 20)

So let our hearts learn that when God speaks a Word it will come to pass.   May our faith grow as we rest in sweet peace in the waiting.   “And now, Lord, what wait I for?    my hope is in Thee.”   (Psalm 39: 7)