I Will Wait Patiently On Your Word

“Waiting for God is not laziness. Waiting for God is not going to sleep. Waiting for God is not the abandonment of effort. Waiting for God means, first, activity under command; second, readiness for any new command that may come; third, the ability to do nothing until the command is given.” -G. Campbell Morgan

Most of us think that we're pretty patient people, don't we? After all, we wait in line for lots of different things, right? We wait for traffic lights, coffee, movies, sporting events, the newest iPhones, and even in front of schools to drop our kids off in the morning, and/or to pick them up afterschool. It seems that we spend a good portion of our lives waiting for something or other.

As bad, or annoying as it might seem to you, the Bible gives us several examples of people who waited -- and waited --- for God’s next move. Take Moses, for instance. The man herded sheep on the backside of the desert for 40 years before God returned him to leadership. And how about the apostle Paul? He cooled his heels for seven years before his ministry was up and running.

Why does God sometimes make us hold up and wait? Is it because we did, or said something wrong? Maybe we had the wrong frame of mind, or forgot too many prayers? As you probably know, God has his reasons for doing what He does. You can wrack your brain trying to figure it out, but you never will. So just trust that He knows what He's doing with your life.

Who doesn't know how difficult it is to get someone's attention when they're all over the place? It's the same thing with us. God can't get our attention either if we're moving around. So, in order to do so He puts us on "hold." But wait! He doesn't just have us sitting down somewhere twiddling our thumbs.

Usually, during this time, there's at least a couple things going on. First, He's putting us through a little character building. And second, He's testing our character. That’s the normal process God utilizes with the woman or man He wants to use.

Furthermore, the greater God’s desired use, the more He invests in His character building curriculum. Usually, it involves pain or affliction -- or waiting. God is more interested in what He can do in us, that what He can do through us. The question that accompanies these periods is: “How will I respond?” Will He grow me through this, or will I look for another way?

Being human, we may be tempted to do something to hurry things along while we're waiting. We might look for another job, move to another place, or try to manipulate our spouse. In other words, we get restless and want to kick start our stalled lives back into motion. But, we need to be patient. This is God's time to do good works within us. Remember what I told you earlier? God knows what He's doing. Trust Him!

Undoubtedly, different people react very differently to waiting, or pain. However, the person who trusts God, sees affliction and waiting as growth times. As a consequence, they grow because of deep confidence in God and what He’s doing.

On the other hand, people who don’t trust God view affliction or waiting like attacks, or threats to safety and security. Their response is to turn inward, to come up with their own resources, to trust in themselves. The result of a pattern of not trusting God is turning your back on Him.

No one likes waiting around for no reason. But, waiting for God when He tells us to wait, is a pretty good reason. He loves us, and has our best interest at heart. Whether there's something that needs a little tweaking; or even a major overhaul in our lives, He will put us on hold. But, if we're patient and trust in Him, we will come out better in the end.

Scripture: Romans 12:12; Romans 8:25; Galatians 6:9; Jeremiah 29:11; Isaiah 40:31

Prayer: Holy Father, I know that You have my best interests at heart; and that You have a bigger plan for me than I will ever know. I pray for patience as I wait, on Your word, while You do mighty works within me as only You can. Amen

God bless you!

Erica