Waiting for the Lord

The are so many things I've wanted to do and not had time to even begin. I had intentions to do them once I reached the finish line for school. However, once I reached it I realized I didn't know where to begin and that I don't have time to do many things well. On top of that, one thing the Lord has been saying is "wait".

I am paying attention to and trying to learn the the difference between what God is in the middle of and what just seems good. I only want to go where God is leading me and do what He is asking me to do. So I am waiting for Him. 

I have learned that when the Lord says "wait," you wait. Pushing forward when the Lord says "wait" is exhausting and fruitless. When the Lord asks you to wait, it is good news.

Waiting is not lame, it is not punishment, and it is not rejection. Waiting means that something  is coming that is better than what is presently available. Waiting on the Lord means He is He has a good plan and He is arranging the details. Waiting is powerful.

For example, waiting during pregnancy means both the parents and the baby get 9 months to prepare for the amazing moment they will meet. The parents have no ability to form the baby or rush its development. God does that while they wait and prepare themselves. It is also God's grace that He gives the parents time to prepare and anticipate a gift that will change their life forever.

An invitation to wait is  powerful because it's and invitation to see that "the LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still" (Exodus 14:14). Those words were the instructions to the Israelites when they were facing seemingly certain destruction by the Egyptians. The Israelites never had to fight that battle. The Lord won it for them in a surprising and miraculous way.

Waiting for the Lord also displays trust. Logically, taking action is more effective than taking no action. However, God created the universe and knows everything. He is for us and not against us. If He says wait, it's the best thing to do. 

Throughout the Old Testament, the Israelites won battles, not on their own strength or ability, but based on their obedience to the Lord. The other nations feared them because the Lord was with them. Obedience to God is better than human reason. (It's more logical than logic!)

As another example, Jesus commanded His disciples not to leave Jerusalem until they received the gift the Father had promised (Acts 1:4). They waited and received the Holy Spirit, who brought the boldness, power, and guidance they needed to accomplish their mission. The Gospel would not have gotten far if they had ignored Jesus and set out to continue in the ministry they already knew. Waiting in obedience is powerful.

The Lord can accomplish more in a moment than we can in a lifetime. I'm not against working hard, but if one of us if going to accomplish something, I'd much rather it be Him than me. 

I don't even know what exactly I am waiting for. I just know that there's something ahead that no matter how hard I could try, I can't "make" it happen. God is at work, so I am waiting.

If God says wait, waiting is good. Just wait...and see.

Wrestling with God

God is so gracious that He likes to speak to us. Sometimes He speaks to us about the present moment, but other times He reveals plans that are far into the future.

Often, the bigger the promise, the longer it takes to see it come to pass. When the prophet Elijah told the Shunammite woman she would have a son, the promise was fulfilled in about a year. Abraham waited around 25 years before receiving the son the Lord had promised. However, Abraham's promise was larger. The Lord gave the Shunammite woman a son to care for her in old age. The Lord gave Abraham a son in order to bless all nations through Him. When Isaiah prophesied about the coming Messiah, centuries passed before the promise came to pass.

Although times of waiting can easily test our faith, God's promises are definitely worth the wait.

While waiting to see promises fulfilled, we have a choice of how to respond. If we have no faith we can easily disregard the Word of the Lord, rather than seeking the Lord to see it fulfilled. There can also be temptation to take things into our own hands, like Abraham did. He gave up on waiting for the Lord to fulfill His promise, so Abraham took things into his own hands and bore a son through Hagar. Although Abraham did get a son, this decision brought conflict into his household. It did not bring about fulfillment of the Lord's promise.

As we wait to see promises fulfilled, we will be best served by seeking the Lord and trusting in His timing.

So, we wait. We don't wait passively, but we walk alongside the Lord and pay attention to His timing and his leading. When Elisha asked Elijah for a double portion of his spirit, the promise came at a price. Elisha had to diligently contend not to let Elijah out of his sight until Elijah was taken up.

There are many promises in the Bible that are simply waiting for people of faith to grab onto them and fervently seek the Lord to see them fulfilled. The Lord loves us so much that He intends for us to engage with him. He has given us the great privilege of partnering with Him to see His Kingdom come on this earth. He could do it instantly without us, but He chooses let us play a part.

My experience of waiting has felt like holding on tight and continually asking the Lord not to leave me out. For many years, it appeared that the Lord's promises for me weren't realistic. I watched many others do things that I would love to do, as I fought to rescue my life from being caught up in utter disaster. It would appear that "God's promises" may have just been "my ideas." So, I asked God like a million times to be a part of what He is doing. I grabbed on to even the tiniest opportunity that I felt God had brought across my path, regardless of already being overwhelmed by regular life.

Lately, what has been on my mind is the image of Jacob wrestling with God. Jacob had wrestled all night, but despite being injured and exhausted he would not let go until God blessed Him.

In hindsight, I feel like I have been saying "God, I will not let go until you bless me." As I am beginning to see more and more that "God's plans" aren't actually just ideas I made up, I no longer have to wrestle to ensure do not miss out on God's blessing and greater plans. I'm not sure exactly what they are, but I am certain He is going to show me.

So for me, that's what waiting on God's promises looks like - fighting for it while I am waiting and then stepping back and just following where God leads me.