Wait

All of us have waited for something: a job, a home or someone to love. Waiting isn’t hard when what we desire comes quickly. Having patience to wait beyond our expectations can be much harder. Many prayers have included the question, “How long?”

Waiting can test our patience, and we can often get discouraged thinking the Lord isn’t hearing our cry. We live in a 30 minute culture. Nothing should take longer. So when we hear the words, “Wait on the Lord,” we cringe a bit because that means we must depend on His time and not ours. And sometimes He makes us wait.

A close friend of mind just received a huge blessing after waiting twenty years. Back in 1994,  she applied for a program that would help her and her family. When she didn’t receive an answer, she just let it go and put it in God’s hands. Over the years, she trusted Him to provide for her and her extended family, and He has, even in the toughest of times.

In the midst of COVID, she lost her job. Then her landlord decided to sell the home she has lived in for those twenty years. Her whole world came crashing down and her patience was really tested. She’d never depended on government assistance before, but her options looked bleak. Then out of nowhere, she received a call. Praise God, the program that she applied for twenty years ago, was now available to her and would open doors to a new home for her and her family.

She told me that she learned a huge lesson through this experience: the hope in waiting patiently. God was working for her the entire time. His timing was perfect. While she waited, her faith grew stronger, even though there were some frustrating times. She learned that if she put her full trust in God, He delivered far more that what she prayed for or needed. The home she is moving to more than accommodates her family, including her dad. Now he will have his own room on the first floor with his own bathroom.

The Lord uses waiting to bring us closer to Him as we develop patience and perseverance. We need both of these characteristics to survive in this world. What have you been waiting for? Trust and have patience. He knows what you really need and He will provide. While you wait, use the time to strengthen your relationship with Him. Let Him pour out His grace and mercy upon you.  

Be encouraged! Jesus hears your request and He has the better plan. If you look beyond your situation, you will see Him moving. He’s in the wind that blows and the sunrise and sunset. He’s answering prayers and performing miracles. Your breakthrough is coming. Let Him take this. Just let go and be patient in the wait. Let the first stanza of “In Christ Alone” lift your spirits.

“In Christ alone, my hope is found. He is my light, my strength, my song. This cornerstone, this solid ground, firm through the fiercest drought and storm. What heights of love, what depths of peace, when fears are stilled, when strivings cease. My Comforter, my all in all. Here in the love of Christ I stand.”

“Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him...The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord; He is their stronghold in time of trouble. The Lord helps them and delivers them. Psalm 27:7, 39-40

Prayer

Lord,

I will be still, and know that You are God; You will be exalted among the nations, You will be exalted in the earth. You will fight for me; I need only to be still. For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from Him. Teach me, and I will be silent; make me understand how I have gone astray. You are my refuge and strength, a great help in times of distress. Let all that I am wait quietly before You, for my hope is in You. You alone are my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will not be shaken. Because I wait upon You, LORD, You will renew my strength. I will soar on wings like eagles; I will run and not grow weary, I will walk and not be faint. All glory and praise be to You who is always with me and on time! Amen!

IN CHRIST ALONE


Photo by Kai Pilger on Unsplash

Google Doc