Patience, endurance, long-suffering, restraint, poise, etc., no matter how you say it, or describe it, it still means: a capacity, or willingness to endure. This can create problems for many in our modern, I-want-it-yesterday, don’t-make-me-wait, taking-my-turn- is -stupid world! Now, this isn’t always the case.
There are some (I’m not naming any names!) who gladly wait in line for hours to get the latest iphone. This leads me to believe that one is willing to wait for whatever is truly important to them. Look, I’m not casting any stones here, I speak from experience. Guilty as charged!
I'm sure you've heard somewhere along the way that God has his reasons for making us wait during certain life situation. After all, the Bible is filled with illustrations of what it means to "wait." God could have easily spoken to Moses in the desert about sending him to help free His people from slavery 40 days after he ran away from Egypt (Exodus 2:11-16). Instead, He made him wait for 40 long years (Numbers 32:13).
Did you know that, on average, a person spends an estimated 45 to 62 minutes waiting everyday? I'll let you do the math on that one. However, God doesn't work on a timetable; and He certainly doesn't follow yours or mine!
God could have given Abraham the son He promised him while he was still a young. Instead, He waited until he was 100 years old; knowing that age and physical reasons would make conceiving more difficult at that age (Genesis 21:2). This was quite a long wait for sure, but God had His reasons.
Let's face it. Most people don't like to wait. Seriously, we often get frustrated waiting on fast food! We're always in a rush to get to the next place or the next thing. Just the same, it's important to learn to wait when it comes to Our Heavenly Father.
God could have answered prayers and met the needs of those men of God (a many more) a lot sooner, but He didn’t. Instead, He made them wait. And He often makes us do the same. God doesn't do this just to make us "cool our heels." He does it to see what you and I are made of. That's right!
Think about it. We'd love for God to satisfy our instant gratification fix. We're in trouble, ask God, and voila! It's fixed. Problems overwhelm us, pray to God, and voila! Problem solved. That would be really nice wouldn't it? But God's a lot smarter than that...a LOT!
You see He knows how we operate, after all He did create us. And many times He sees something inside of us that we don't. Faith, dependence, and trust can be pretty hard to see sometimes. It's there in all of us, but it needs a little coaxing to come out. In many cases, it needs to be dragged out of us kicking and screaming!
Think of God's waiting period as a spiritual "boot camp" of sorts. He makes us wait through pain, sorrow, disappointment, frustration, and self-doubt. But if you're strong enough, if you persevere, if you press through, the reward is so worth it!
Being a Christian is not going to be easy (Matthew 10:22). Waiting on God is not easy, either. But while we wait on God, we are building spiritual muscles that we need to carry on. The muscles of faith, dependence, and trust grow during this time. It's all part of the maturing process. And, it will be a continual, life-long process.
Keep this in mind as we close today's message. He made some of the greatest men of faith wait. So, don’t be discouraged if He makes you wait, too. Be patient. He'll come through for you, just like He came through for them (Psalm 27:14).
Scripture: Hosea 12:6; Psalm 37:7; Psalm 25:5; Titus 2:13; Galatians 5:5
Prayer: Help me Lord to be still in Your presence and to wait quietly and patiently for You. Amen
God bless you!
Andrea
God bless you!
Andrea
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.