Patience in Waiting on Him

I gave the message this past Saturday at Food Outreach and I just felt led to share some of it with you today in my blog. I hope this helps you in this season of your life as it is mine.
He knows it’s painful for us when we are waiting for our prayers to be answered. In fact I truly believe there are times that He weeps with us during the process. What we don’t understand sometimes is that it isn’t always about us. We can try to be righteous and upright Christians and then wonder why God seems to be punishing us. But it may just be that God is needing to put everything into place for us. I don’t think we realize every little detail that goes into orchestrating the paths of our lives. Our Father absolutely loves us and wants the best for us. That is why He tests our faith and character. He knows the little flaws that still need to be tweaked. But He lovingly adjusts them for us. The only way it is extremely painful is if we fight Him in the process. Do we ever stop to think that if we would just take a look at what He is showing us and make the minor adjustments life would run smoother? It’s like God is trying to take over the steering wheel of our car and drive the correct way for us and we try to take it back from Him because we know the quickest route. Which looks like the easiest, less painful way. But in the end it is the longest and most painful. I say let God have the steering wheel and enjoy the ride!

God asks us to be bold and confident while we are waiting.
“Whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy. For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything.” James 1:2-4

I recently heard a definition for hope as “the fuel for the journey of the unknown to known”. We are to be joyful under troubles. These trials are sent from God’s love. When we are waiting we need to make sure that patience, not passion is set to work in us. Passion cannot be the only driving force. We all have God-given passions. Some of us may know today what they are and some of us are still working on finding them. Regardless, our passions need to be developed. If I heard God tell me that He wanted me to build a home for troubled youth and I jumped on it today it would not be God’s timing. God has placed other responsibilities before me this moment in time. It is a passion, but it's not for right now. Actually that is a passion of mine.

God also asks us to serve Him while we are waiting. I know from my own experience that when I pour into other people’s lives in the midst of my own trials, that I am the one that is blessed. God uses my mouth to minister to others but as I’m speaking the words He gives me, I realize that they are just as much for me as they are for the people I’m talking to. Do you know how many times I will be talking and I will look up and say to God “I can’t believe you got me again” and shake my head? My Father is such a character. So instead of taking the victim role, God asks us to seek out others and help them in their own battles. When we stop focusing on ourselves and our own problems, life just seems to flow and we are able to wait joyfully on the Lord.

Deuteronomy 11:13 tells us to “love the LORD your God and to serve him with all your heart and all your soul”.

“If they obey and serve him, they will spend the rest of their days in prosperity and their years in contentment.” Job 36:11

God also asks us to Worship Him while we are waiting. We can rejoice in a Father that loves us so much that He sent His only son to die on the cross for us and our sins. I don’t know about you but whenever I’ve seen the pictures of Jesus on the cross...not the neat and clean pictures we see sometimes, but the one that truly shows his suffering I realize just how much God loves us. I look at my 3 sons and there is no way I could let anyone nail them to the cross and watch any one of them die right in front of me. I’m a small woman but I know that if anyone would try to hurt one of my children, I could do some major damage. I would not let that happen without a fight. So when the music comes on and even in the midst of our deepest trials we are to raise our hands and voices and praise our Father. It’s amazing how we can change our own attitudes by at least trying to be happy. Even if we don’t feel it, we can fake it till it just feels normal.

“Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.” Psalm 100:2

I think that the best example of this is Paul and Silas in jail......
They were unmercifully flogged and then, weak and bleeding, they were thrown into an inner cell of the prison and their feet were put in stocks. Their legs were spread wide apart and their feet put through holes in the wooden device which was used for torture as well as for securing the prisoners.
Did Paul and Silas moan and complain about being beaten and put in prison? No, the Bible says that about midnight they were praying and singing hymns to God. There were other prisoners in the cell listening to them.
Would we be able to do the same thing during such a time as that? After their singing, there was an earthquake and all the chains fell off of the prisoners and the doors were all opened.
Do you think the same would happen for us if we would stop to praise God during our trials? That the chains would fall off of us and we would be free. What is it going to take for us to realize that we don’t have to be weak in the midst of any storm. We can be secure in a Father that has put us on this earth for a reason. What is your reason? I used to say mine was to show other people what not to do or be but now I know that I have a passion to help other people heal and to know God. Some of those passions have been used by God and some are still being developed but I will be happy as I patiently wait for the rest to come.
I want you to listen to this song about “waiting”. It is from the movie “Fireproof”. Whether you are waiting for a marriage to be restored, a child to be returned home, healing in your body or any prayer that you have spoken for some time now....just remember that God hears your prayer. He has not left or forgotten you. He is building our character, and our faith along the way. I know that I would not be the person I am today if it wasn’t for the patience in waiting on the next healing in my life The trials have made me a stronger woman with a love for my Father that cannot be denied. I pray that as you watch and listen to this video you will let it go straight into your heart and know that you can do all things through Christ that strengthens you and that you can run the race while you wait.

Click for Video