Breakfast With Christ - Waiting On God (Part 1)
BREAKFAST WITH CHRIST
TOPIC: WAITING ON GOD part 1
SCRIPTURE: ISAIAH 40:31
"But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint".
Has anyone made you to wait for something for so long that you got fed up waiting? We all hate to wait. It might be having to wait for a bus at a bus stop or waiting for a friend to show up at your meeting place. Waiting isn't a pleasant experience, more so if it is about waiting on God. Waiting for God to answer our prayers is one of the most difficult ways God tests our patience and faith.
Sometimes we pray for God to heal us but we don't get instant response. Does that mean God didn't hear us? The Bible says when we pray, God listens. So why doesn't he answer us instantly? Why does God make us wait? There are several reasons why God will delay answers to our prayers.
God sometimes make us wait to test our patience. Patience is a difficult virtue for humans to possess, yet if we want to walk with God, we need to develop the ability to be patient. Patience isn't a gift God will drop in our spirits. God teaches us patience. When you pray for God to help you to be patient, He doesn't anoint you to be patient, instead He will take you through situations that will teach you patience. Patience is therefore a virtue we develop, not a gift God gives us freely. We all need to allow God to develop in us the ability to be patient.
God sometimes make us wait because His timing is different from ours. It is interesting that we often think God must act when we want Him to act. The fact that you want something from God now doesn't mean God will give it to you now. God does everything in His own time. In John 11, Jesus was told that His friend Lazarus was sick. Mary and Martha were anxiously waiting for Jesus to come and heal Lazarus but Jesus delayed going there and waited for extra two days. By the time He had gone there, Lazarus was already buried. Mary and Martha accused Jesus of delaying. But according to Jesus' divine timing, He was right on time. He wasn't late at all. At the end Jesus resurrected Lazarus and many people believed in Him because of that miracle. God's timing is always perfect. When it seems nothing is happening, God always has a plan.
Lastly, waiting on God produces intimacy and dependency. God will sometimes make us wait so that He can draw us closer to Himself. God always wants us to depend on Him alone. He also wants to build an intimate relationship with us. Most of us only get closer to God when we have serious problems. God always craves for our attention. So when He finally gets that attention because we are in some trouble, instead of being in hurry to sort us out, He takes His time and develops a closer relationship with us. God loves us and every loving father wants to keep his children close to Himself.
Waiting is surely a difficult thing to do. But we need to understand that God knows better than us. His Will is supreme. When we pray, we need to learn to be patient with God and wait for Him to answer us. In our next BWC, we will look at how we can wait on God. Stay blessed!
Prayer line:
Lord, I trust you completely. Please develop in me the ability to be patient with you and wait on you. Amen.
Further Scripture Reading
Micah 7:7