Our times of waiting on God can actually be the most productive times in our lives.

IT’S WORTH CONSIDERING

Let’s face it. Waiting on God is hard. Everything in us fights against it. We are people of action, and waiting seems like a waste of time. We’re busy people. There’s a lot to do, and it needs to get done…or so we think. We like being in control, and waiting on God interferes with our plans.

Yet, we know that the Bible is full of admonitions to wait on God. One of my favorite psalms is Psalm 27. It concludes with:

Wait for the Lord. Be strong and let your heart take courage. Yes, wait for the Lord.

This verse connects being strong and courageous with waiting. Obviously, there’s something we’re missing. We don’t see these as companions. In our minds, strength and courage are forged on the battlefield. They’re the result of our action, not our waiting. What aren’t we seeing?

AS I SEE IT

Waiting forces our thoughts to God as we cry out for answers or direction. Eventually, we learn to rely completely on Him. When we’re waiting, we see Him as our only hope. Sometimes we’re reduced to the point that He is all we have. That’s when He becomes all we need. Often, when we have been quieted enough in our waiting to look beyond our immediate circumstance, we begin to see God’s bigger picture—what He is doing beyond what I can see to bring about what He has promised.

Often, the waiting period is painful and difficult, and it is through these times that the kind of courage and strength we really need is forged. We may think we’re ready to move on, but God knows better. We’re ready to be used, but God has to make us more usable…and especially, more dependent on Him.

The life of David is a case in point. In him we see the life of someone who learned to wait on God, whether he did it willingly or not. David went through a series of very difficult times as he waited on God. He spent years waiting for God to make him Israel’s king. The days between the promise and the fulfillment forced him to endure the egocentric antics of King Saul, and to spend many days and nights hiding in caves to escape the paranoid king’s attempts to kill him. He even spent some with Israel’s enemy just to stay alive. As he waited, David also endured the pain of having his family and possessions taken, his friends murdered, and his beloved nation fall prey to many of its enemies.

If anyone had reason to become discouraged and disillusioned, it was David. Yet, he lived out the admonition from Psalm 27. In his waiting, he gained the strength he would later need. He fine-tuned the courage God had already given him. He went on to be “a man after God’s own heart.” He became Israel’s greatest king. The character he needed as a great king was molded and grown as he waited on God.

Through his lineage came Israel’s Messiah, the Savior of the world. None of our waiting periods compare to what He has endured as He still waits for the day when He will return to earth as the Conquering King, eventually to finally receive the worship and adoration and honor He deserves. Yes, He was raised from the dead. He conquered death. He ushered in the New Covenant. Yet, He is still waiting on God to receive the promised rewards.

I hope this help the next time you find yourself waiting on God.

RELATED ARTICLES

YOUTUBE CHANNEL

Check out my YouTube channel to get my biblical analysis of current events and my suggestions for surviving and thriving while the world falls apart. Click the link or enter edrodgersauthor in the YouTube search box.

ON THE LIGHTER SIDE

These notices actually appeared in church bulletins:

– Low Self Esteem Support Group will meet Thursday at 7 p.m. Please use the back door.

– The eighth graders will be presenting Shakespeare’s Hamlet in the church basement Friday at 7 p.m. The congregation is invited to attend this tragedy.

– The Priest unveiled the church’s new tithing campaign slogan last Sunday: “I Upped My Pledge, Up Yours!”

 ATTRIBUTIONS

Inclusion of photographs and/or images in no way implies the endorsement of this blog or its information by the photographer or designer.