Have you been praying about a situation in your life and found yourself waiting for a breakthrough?
Are you wondering why the answer hasn't come yet?
Do you feel as though victory is passing you by?
I have been waiting on/for God for the past almost five years now. And I am not one to wait. I have found that when we pray long and hard about a situation in our life without receiving any answers, we just learn to live with it. We go on about our business, wondering if or when God will send the answer. But God Word tells us that He does hear those prayers, and He’s working out the answers even though we may not know all the details. Our situation can change suddenly—quickly without warning!
But one thing is certain: Before God moves suddenly, we will wait. Waiting for answers is a fact of life—nobody gets out of it. So the question is not if we'll wait, but rather how we’ll wait. And I believe how will determine how long.
As we see from God’s Word, one of the important exhortations of the Bible is the call to “wait on the Lord.” Even though God promises special blessing for waiting, waiting is one of the most difficult exhortations of Scripture.
Why is it so hard?
Could it be, that as a part of fallen humanity, we are so prone to take matters into our own hands, to follow our own schemes. Yet, over and over again we are told in Scripture “wait on the Lord.”
We don’t like to wait and when we think of waiting we are apt to respond with the pun, “Wait? That’s what made the bridge collapse!” Of course, that’s weight, not wait. But then these two words, weight and wait are not always unrelated because one of our needs in waiting on the Lord is the need to cast the weighty burdens of life on Him.
And, when we think of waiting, we are admonished in Philippians 4:6-7 (KJV) Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
In other words, we are to give everything over to God for His will to be done in our lives - to pray and wait for God to move.
The comment about the bridge expresses our normal dislike for waiting, especially in our “I want it now!” society. Ours is a society that has grown accustomed to immediate gratification. Due to modern technology and all our conveniences—telephones, refrigerators, freezers, microwaves, fast foods, airplanes, etc.—we have many things immediately at our fingertips. Just think of the speed of the latest computer technology in comparison with the computers of only a few years ago.
Waiting on God - How do we wait?
Waiting on God was one of David's secrets of being a man after God's own heart. David went in and sat before the Lord (2 Sam. 7:18). God was his confidence, and he trusted Him in every aspect of his life:
for guidance and instruction (Ps. 25:5),
for help and defense (Ps. 33:20),
for victory over his enemies and vindication (Ps. 37:7,9,34; 52:9),
for deliverance from trouble and destruction (Ps. 40:1, 59:9),
for His refuge from treachery and oppression (Ps. 62:1,5),
for His forgiving love (Ps. 130:5-6),
and much more.
Nothing tries our faith like waiting on God for answers to prayer. Waiting tests our submission to Him as our trustworthy Authority. Waiting is not necessarily resignation from all activity; it is submission to God's better idea. Waiting on God means that all of our life is brought under God's umbrella of authority and direction. If we run ahead of God, we will be painfully chastened by turmoil, exhaustion, and failure. Taking matters in our own hands has ample instructive precedent in God's Word. Think of Abraham with Ishmael, Saul's usurping the role of a priest, Israel looking to Egypt for help (Isa. 30:1-3), or walking in the light of our own fire (Isa. 50:11.)
What do we learn while we are waiting?
We learn God Himself. God is revealing His perfections, His impeccable ability to be in charge of every detail.
His timing is split-second.
He is omniscient, omnipresent, and omni-caring.
He works all and in all.
He gives confirmations of His ever-presentness.
He gives us assurances of His real power over the enemy that is not seen.
His Holy Spirit focuses us.
We want proof, but faith is the substance (not the evidence) of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen (Heb. 11:1). The Holy Spirit says, "I am giving you the substance of faith." He gives the grace to await His purposes until the precise moment when He gives evidence that He was working all along. Without this faith, it is impossible to please Him, for all who come to God must believe that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him (Heb. 11:6).
As we humble ourselves and open up to receive from Christ, we will be strengthened to see the full kaleidoscope of His plan and be encouraged in the grace of waiting.
How Do We Wait?
- Prayerfully Psalm 25:4-5
- With strength and courage Psalm 27:14, 31:24
- Rejoicing and trusting in His holy name Psalm 33:21
- Based on the fear of the Lord and His unfailing love Psalm 33:18,22
- With hope Psalm 33:20, 39:7
- Patiently Psalm 37:7, 40:1; Habakkuk 3:16, Romans 8:25, Hebrews 6:15
- Obediently Psalm 37:34, 119:166; Isaiah 26:8-9
- Desiring Him Isaiah 26:8-9
- Single-mindedly Psalm 62:5
- Expectantly Psalm 123:2, Micah 7:7
- Believing His Word Psalm 130:5
- Assured He is all we need, He is our portion Lamentations 3:24
- Quietly Lamentations 3:26
- Always Hosea 12:6
- In anticipation of joy John 3:29
- Eagerly Romans 8:19,23
Here are a few things God does for us when we wait for him:
- He humbles us
- He teaches us to seek him
- He teaches us to trust him
- He builds patience and perseverance into us
- He reveals what is in our hearts
- He helps us to treasure him above the things we are waiting for
- He makes mercy sweeter when it finally arrives
All of us will wait passively, or we'll wait expectantly. A passive person hopes something good will happen and is willing to sit around waiting to see if it does. After a short time, he gives up, saying, "That’s it! I've waited and waited and nothing's happened." The passive person has a lot of wishbone but not much backbone!
The expectant person, on the other hand, is hopeful, believing the answer is just around the corner, due to arrive any minute. His belief is not a passive thing. His heart is full of hope, expecting his problem to be solved at any moment. He wakes up every morning expecting to find his answer. He may wait and wait, but suddenly what he’s been waiting for happens.
If you are waiting on the Lord here are some things you can do:
Do not cease to pray about what you are waiting for and ask others to pray for you. God honors obedience and prayer is a must in your relationship with Him. Listen to Him when you pray, it isn't always about you talking to Him. Sometimes your silence allows you to "hear" Him.
"But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me." Micah 7:7
Be open-minded to God's will and not only your own plan. God is going to take your plan and may make it seem impossible to our human minds. Then He is going to give you two roads. Your way or His way. His way looks harder, but the truth is that it is only your own self-doubt that can stop a "God-thing".
"Now to him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us." Ephesians 3:20
Don't get discouraged. What if you wait for three years, and get nowhere. Keep your head up and your heart focused. That breakthrough you have been waiting for will happen, with patience- us moms best friend!
"Yet those who wait for the LORD Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary." Isaiah 40:31
Open your ears to listen to Him even if it's through the wisdom of others like friends, family or pastors and sometimes in your very own thoughts. But be very careful for doomsdayer's and gloominess. There are some people that want to bring you down. In this case, remove them from the conversation, surround your life with people who lift you up.
"He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" Matthew 11:12
Have a servants heart. Regardless of where you are in your vision or waiting on God, life should always have a focus on serving God through serving people. If you are worrying about your finances, go feed the homeless, be God to those less fortunate, if you are longing for a baby make a meal for someone who just had a baby, place yourself in places where your heart can grow more dependent on Him.
"This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God's people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God." 2 Corinthians 9:12
Build relationships. If you have a vision to make a difference, then go ahead and start building a future of partners that will prosper when you have been sharpened by God and He releases you to fulfill your destiny.
"You shall love the Lord your God with all of your heart, your mind and your strength and love your neighbor as yourself." Luke 10:27
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