Waiting Upon the Lord
3/27/06
Waiting can feel as if we are doing nothing. How can we stay in a holding pattern before the Lord when we have a problem that needs a solution, a question that requires an answer, or an urgent decision that must be made? Yet despite the feeling of necessity, it is truly wise to wait for God because we will:
Receive divine direction. Since God’s plans are interconnected, our words and actions affect others—our loved ones, our friends, and those we serve. It is critical, therefore, to receive instruction from the Lord that enables us to make right choices.
Keep in step with God’s timing. In our world, we are pressured to “hurry and decide, or lose out." The Lord asks us to stand against the culture’s way of operating (Psalm 106:13) and instead to choose His way: we are to wait until we receive His signal to begin.
Be equipped. God wants us to succeed in our relationships, work, and ministry. He has promised to prepare us and strengthen us, but our cooperation through stillness is necessary.
Have stronger faith. The Lord uses delays to accomplish His goal of deepening our trust in Him. Waiting reveals the level of our faith and invites us to trust Him more.
Gain purified motives and desires. God will use times of stillness to reveal to us what we really think and feel. He will refine those areas that are self-centered so that our desires will be the same as His. Then He will give us what He had planned for our best interest.
Waiting is one of the essentials of the Christian life. How much is it practiced in yours?
Peggy Jones