Tuesday, March 15, 2022

           Waiting is a part of life.  Some waiting can be frustrating to us.  But there can be times where God calls us to wait.  There can be times where God is at work as we wait for something else to occur or unfold.  The Bible certainly speaks to waiting.  “Wait patiently for the LORD.  Be brave and courageous.  Yes, wait patiently for the LORD” (Psalm 27:14).  Isaiah wrote, “I will wait for the LORD, who is hiding His face from the house of Jacob.  I will put my trust in HIM” (Isaiah 8:17).  In Scripture, God invites and even commands waiting.  Waiting is not lost time or downtime.  It can be redemptive time and productive time should we use it wisely and well.  Most of us have probably experienced seasons or occasions of waiting.  It can be difficult to wait but it does not have to be an exercise in nothing more than marking time till conditions change.  There are seven lessons we can experience through waiting. 
            One, we can learn to be better prayers.  Someone has said that PUSH is an acronym that means we are to pray until something happens.  Prayer is a good way to spend those times of waiting.  We will never regret seeking the Lord or spending time with Him in prayerful conversation.  God may put us in a time of waiting so we can pray.
            Two, waiting can be an occasion to trust.  As we wait, we trust that God is in control.  We believe that He will release an answer at the right time.  There WILL be times where God simply invites to do nothing but wait patiently on Him.  Do not force matters.  Do not plow ahead in your strength or will.  Just wait.  And as you wait, trust that God knows what He is doing.  Fight the impulse to take matters into your own hands.
            Three, God’s sense of timing is perfect.  Our timing is not perfect and can often be wrong.  Our human nature can be impulsive and demanding.  And, frankly, we can often become spoiled.  When we are as blessed as many of us are, we can develop a sense of entitlement that God should always act as we wish and when we wish.  But God has a different perspective.  Remember, His ways and thoughts are not the same as ours.  And His ways are always perfect.  We cannot make such a claim.
            Four, waiting can be a dramatic season of spiritual growth.  Fill your waiting time with Scripture, worship, prayer walks and minutes devoted to nothing but praising God for what you already have and what He has already done.  Waiting can teach us peace, patience, faithfulness and self-control.  Hey...that sounds like the fruit of the Spirit, right?  God often develops this fruit in us as we wait on Him for some reason or purpose.  God knows what He is doing and it can take time for us to learn that.
            Five, waiting can teach us dependence upon Him.  We hold on to what God has promised.  We keep praying, pursuing and leaning on Him.  We often sing “leaning on the everlasting arms.”  Well, waiting is an occasion to practice what we sing.  I suspect God often hears us sing those words and decides to give us a chance to do just that—lean on His everlasting arms.  When we lean, we rest our full weight on something else.  And dependence upon God is resting fully and faithfully on Him.
            Six, when we wait, we can continue to serve God with what He has given us to do.  Serve your family.  Encourage your friends.  Worship, tithe, share your faith, invite others to church.  When we wait, we do not have to shut down everything.  We can stay on task and on point doing precisely the things we already know God wants us to do.  We can stay obedient and faithful in serving God as we wait for a breakthrough to happen.
            And seven, be thankful in this season of waiting.  Be thankful that God has called you to this moment.  Scripture teaches us that we are to be thankful in all circumstances and occasions.  As a loving Father, God can see what is harmful or dangerous and waiting can be His way of protecting us from a terrible or tragic situation.  We may not know what it is God sees but we trust His vision more than our own.  Our perspective should be gratitude because God has chosen this for us and we will gladly accept it.
            If you are in a season of waiting, be encouraged in it.  If you are not waiting, encourage those who are.  And when you do find yourself waiting, give glory to God and place yourself in His care.  Have a great Tuesday!  And remember you can share our worship anytime at youtube.com/FirstBaptistKannapolis.