Word of Life

While I am waiting…

|“For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him.”|Psalm 62:5 ESV

Seated on the couch on a Sunday mid-morning, I switch on my iPod and I started listening to John Waller’s song “While I’m waiting” a soundtrack off the movie “Fireproof” and I couldn’t help but wonder how many of us behave when we are waiting on God. Many of us, we pray and we trust God for many things… but meanwhile as we wait for God to fulfill our prayers, what are you doing? What are you involved in doing?  

This is the time where most of us miss the mark and we compromise and God looks from heaven and sees that we had other options or plan B’s just in-case He tarries to answer our prayers and thus allows us to work it our way till we get to our end. I remember, when I was in Sunday school, we used to sing a song “when he calls me, I will answer… I will be somewhere, working for my Lord”. This got me thinking… as much as we are really patient on waiting on Him… where will our miracle find us? What will we be doing? How do we spend our time, or prepare ourselves for what we asked God for as we wait on Him?

Whenever we pray and God seems not to answer, I do believe that we are actually in the “waiting room” and this is where God

a)     Prepares us for what He is about to release unto us.
and

b)    Checks on our patience, dependence and trust in Him.

It is up to you to decide if you will wait on the Lord or you will be in a hurry and miss your blessing. You will realize that the times that we live in and the generation that we are in is an “Instant things Generation.” They have what they want instantly. We have fast foods almost at the end of every street thus no need to cook always; you can do most things through the internet and run life as you want. And this has resulted with many people having the same attitude when it comes to their prayers as well. Very few of us can tarry in the presence of God and listen to Him. All we do is come and speak and speak to Him and then leave before he speaks to us.

You will realize that if there is one thing people in our generation hate to do, it is to wait. And why should we? We can Google questions rather than wait for an answer; we can order whatever we want online rather than suffering the long weekend lines at the retail store. We can even book reservations ahead of time rather than waiting for a table at our favorite establishment; But God doesn’t operate any faster in the twenty-first century than He did in the first/in the earlier years; and so while we rush ourselves, we can’t rush God. In fact, much of life is spent waiting. You will never rush your lecture to give you your term paper, you will never rush a doctor to give you your medical diagnosis or even rush your employer to pay you before the stipulated date… why then RUSH God? If you can wait for other things… why can’t you wait for God’s PERFECT Time for Him to answer your prayers?

The question then arises; what do I need to do/what can I do while I am waiting? This is a question that all of us need to ask ourselves. We may not get the answers but Jesus said… “But the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, Standby), the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My name [in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf], He will teach you all things.” [John 14:26 AMP] and Jesus echoed the same words again in [John 16:13] and said “But when He, the Spirit of Truth (the Truth-giving Spirit) comes, He will guide you into all the Truth (the whole, full Truth).” This tells us that when we do not know what to do, the Holy Spirit is at hand to help us. But how many of us bother to consult and listen to him? We are so engrossed in doing what we what and deem is right.

Just the same way that you can’t switch on a TV set when it’s not connected to the antennae and expect to view any pictures on the screen, so is a Christian who is not tuned to God. Without the Holy Spirit, you can’t lead the kind life God expects you to live simply because you are not tuned to him. The Holy Spirit is your antennae to be connected and tuned to God who is the master planner of our lives program. You need to continually surrender to God and have him guide your steps.

While our natural inclination is to hate waiting, this period of uncertainty can actually be a time of great personal growth. Here are some things you need to know while waiting. 

Recognize that God is in control, even when it seems He has forgotten you.

God speaks to Habakkuk and tells him; “Look around at the nations; look and be amazed! For I am doing something in your own day, something you wouldn’t believe even if someone told you about it” [Habakkuk 1:5, NLT]. Often when it seems nothing is happening is when everything is happening behind the scenes. The problem is that we look so much with our physical eyes and we just can’t see it. I want to let you know as you read this that, when you think that there is nothing that is happening, that is when God is working behind the scenes for you. He is fighting battles that you couldn’t have managed to on your own. Just be patient. 

Renew your faith in God’s quiet, steady providence.

Most of the time as we wait we are filled with anxiety and thus we act as we do. This is because sometimes (most times) we do not know how to handle the anxiety/how to quell the anxiety. You will realize that you are not the first or last to wait. You will be amazed to find that every major figure in the Bible was forced to wait for some period of time before God brought them to a place of success. Abraham waited twenty-five years before his wife Sarah gave birth to their first child. Joseph went through thirteen years of betrayal, false imprisonment, and abandonment before assuming the leadership of Egypt. Moses spent forty yearstending sheep before God called him as a deliverer of His people. David spent fourteen yearsbefore the throne of Israel would be his and in Jesus’s own ministry, he often told his own mother “My hour has not yet come.” [John 2:4] Waiting is not incidental to faith. Waiting is the DNA of faith. It is worth and important for you to wait on God’s time and always have FAITH in Him because He (God) has never failed and never will he fail. You can bank on His faithfulness.

Redeem your time in the waiting room of life.

Take an example of a scenario whereby you are in a hospital waiting room waiting for your wife, sister, mother or a friend to deliver… you are there preparing yourself how you will react, act or even better still treat the new born baby. And you will realize that we often do that in our own waiting periods. We are so anxious for that “next step,” we languish in despair. But [James 1:4] reminds us to “let patience have her perfect work.” Times of uncertainty and doubt are useful periods in which we can draw into God, sharpen our skills and prepare for the time when that big breakthrough comes. For example as a single man/lady, you can take this time while waiting to get ready for marriage. As a potential employee, learn about the different working/office etiquette as you wait for employment and/or even take a few extra classes and every other person. Perfect your skill and redeem the time. Maximize the time you have as you wait.

View your time in the Waiting Room as a season of growth and development and you’ll find you’ll be that much more ready when your moment comes.

 Avoid “Sightseeing”

Someone said, “You can look, but don’t touch.” This is bad advice. There is much visual distraction today. It’s easy to be lured away into worldly thinking and be deceived by the enemy by (continually) looking at something that is beneath a Christian’s dignity. [1 John 2:15] says “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them.” What you allow yourself to see will dictate what you think. Job discovered this and he said in [Job 31:1] “I made a covenant with my eyes not to look…” We all know the Scripture that says, “For as man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” [Proverbs 23:7]. But the verse right before it says “Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye…” What are you looking at? If you allow your eyes to see things they shouldn’t, you will eventually wind up doing it. Do not allow your mind to wander off the focus. Maintain the focus that you have and stay there. [Read Proverbs 13:15 and Judges 2:13-15].

Don’t Look Down

When troubles come upon us, we often do not want to look up [read Psalm 40:12]. Never once in Scripture are we told to look down, we are always told to look up. David says it all in [Psalms 121.] The problem with us is that when such moments, we are so wrapped up in self-pity which comes and causes us to exaggerate how bad the problem really is and hinders us from seeing the door of escape that God provides [read 1 Corinthians 10:13]. Whenever you dwell on the bad, we focus on the current trials and not the ultimate good as the as Paul encourages us to do in [Philippians 4:8].

You may be experiencing a temporary trial now, but it’s nothing compared to what He has for you in the future [read 1 Corinthians 2:9]. Many Believers miss God because of their negative thoughts… ~> don’t join them. The Father is looking from above… turn your gaze toward Him, not your problem. Whenever you are in this kind of a situation, your heart should be thankful… always knowing that God is working behind the scenes (see point 1). Paul tells us “Thank [God] in everything [no matter what the circumstances may be, be thankful and give thanks], for this is the will of God for you [who are] in Christ Jesus [the Revealer and Mediator of that will].” [1 Thessalonians 5:18].

Live in the Garden of Purity and Desperation

God can bring solutions to our problems, but He does so by first solving a deeper problem – SIN. Some seem to forget the sinfulness of sin. God is greatly grieved when we sin. Resisting sin is not always easy, but it is POSSIBLE [Read James 1:12-16]. Stay pure [1 John 3:3 AMP] says “And everyone who has this hope [resting] on Him cleanses (purifies) himself just as He is pure (chaste, undefiled, guiltless).”Personal purity brings God’s blessings. David says in [Psalm 18:20-21] “The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness (my conscious integrity and sincerity with Him); according to the cleanness of my hands has He recompensed me. For I have kept the ways of the Lord and have not wickedly departed from my God.” Stay pure and holy and God will bless you and honour you.

We also need to be desperate for God in our lives. For us to know him more and for him to increase in us as we decrease. Often, the fulfillment of God’s promise in your life comes only after you’ve surrendered yourself and your will down before God and prayed in utter desperation.

Always remember that God’s delays are not denials…hold on, the promise will come.

Paul said in [1 Thessalonians 5:24] “Faithful is He who called you, who also will do it.” If God gave you a promise, He will fulfill it. Sometimes God leads us into the wilderness on the way to blessings. When we face trials, we shouldn’t give up, but we need to look up to God and He will strengthen us to keep going on until the promise “is ready to be fulfilled.” God’s timing is always perfect. ”As for God His way is perfect; the word of the Lord is tried; he is a buckler to all them that trust in Him.” [2 Samuel 22:31]. And as you wait, you must keep feeding and nurturing His promise with the Word, prayer, and thanksgiving no matter what comes your way and no matter how long it takes. Be patient and wait on Him. If He has carried you this far, He is not about to stop now.

If you want His word fulfilled, stay on the main road, avoid sightseeing, look up and stay pure with your faith focused on Him. “Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.” [Psalm 27:14]

Be of good courage, God’s promises are Yea and Amen, and He makes all things beautiful in His time. Never ever give up, for your blessing is on the way and you are just a praise away from a miracle. God gives us what we need while we are going through the processes that lead to where he is taking us to. Stay on the main road, the road that God has you on, do not be distracted and do not be deceived by the glitz and glamour around you, but rather focus on God and remain in Him and in his word.There are times when you are anxious and weary; you tend to want to get off the road, the one that God has you on. But in those times, remember that God is faithful and He will see you through the tough times, because tough times never last, but tough people do. Wait on Him, wait for His perfect timing.

God Bless you all.

May 17th, 2012 Posted by Mutuma, Dennis | Daily Inspirations, Spiritual Growth | Day-2-Day Life, Knowing Him; Spiritual Growth; Inspiration; Daily Living;, Life's Challenges, Spiritual Growth | 4 Comments