Email 
Bookmark 
Print Why Wait?
by Debbie Johnson“Wanted: seeking people of all ages to fill multiple openings for well-established, centuries-old employer. Pay and benefits are unmatched. No experience necessary - will train. Must be able to follow simple, tried and true instructions. Call 1-800-TIME-4ME. Ask for God.”
Lessons in Patience
When we answered God’s ad in our own life, we had no idea that “will train” meant we would learn patience. Neither did we know that His “simple, tried and true instructions” included waiting on His timing. Waiting is hard for us to do in this “instant” age. We have instant oatmeal, instant coffee, instant lunch and instant cash. We’ve learned to be impatient. As Christians we have come to want “instant” answers from God with “instant” feelings, “instant” worship, and “instant” perfection. We want our relationship with God on our terms – and we want it right now. We think our timing is perfect. Waiting has become such a foreign concept that we have a difficult time waiting on Him.
Faith vs. Feeling
Our reactions to waiting are often emotional. It’s easy to become anxious or afraid of what lies ahead. We are afraid that our needs won’t be met or that we are on our own. We rationalize that waiting must diminish God’s power to take care of us. Our Heavenly Father has promised that He would meet our needs in His perfect timing. He will never leave us or forsake us.
Godly Fellowship
Sometimes we become quiet and stop talking to God and others. We stop talking because we become frustrated that nothing seems to be happening. Our prayers become perfunctory because we don’t believe He hears us. We might also think that we don’t deserve His help because we got ourselves into a mess. Our Lord is not like that. He loves and cares for us and wants more than anything to hear our voices. Those who truly care for us will pray for us. God puts others in our lives to help us through tough times. Sometimes the greatest help we can receive is when someone helps us correct our vision and points us back to our Lord.
We need to continue looking around us in positive ways. There are things we can do, people we can help, and opportunities to make things better. Most of all we need to look for God in all things. Stop looking for problems or potential problems and keep thinking on right things. Knowing our abilities and limitations and working within them, we can more easily focus on Him and not on other people. Talk to a close friend and ask them to be praying or if they have any ideas. Sometimes we don’t see solutions and others do. Be prepared though to find that the greatest answer is one in which our part is to continue to trust and rest on His promises.
Planning Wisely
Look ahead and plan with Godly wisdom. Flexibility is the key. A willingness to change if His plans are different than ours makes a big difference. Obstacles are opportunities to stretch our faith or make us more compassionate towards others. Don’t worry about things that may never happen and never underestimate the power of God. Surrounding ourselves with Godly people who will help build us up and not tear us down is very important. God can and will use someone who is willing to listen. Take sound advice from those who know Him and leave room to change. In all things, pray. It is the most effective way to sort through any problem.
Remember God's Faithfulness
Stop and look back at the faithfulness of our God. Remember the times when God has already met our needs individually as well as the needs of others. We can find His faithfulness recorded since the beginning of time. He was there for Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David and a host of other saints in the Bible. All we need to do is take the time to read and reflect on His faithfulness.
The most important thing that we can do is keep looking up and keep serving. When we keep looking up it puts things into perspective. It will keep us humble that our wonderful, almighty Creator has chosen us. He keeps our world and universe in order and He wants to be an intimate part of our life every day. He knows our problems and the solutions. Waiting on His timing to implement His plan will make us grow.
It is hard to trust in the middle of the storm, but when the storm is over we can look back and see the changes He has made. It is when we become idle, when we stop reading His word, when we stop going to church, when we stop praying, that Satan can gain his greatest foothold. Don’t give him an inch!
~ Debbie Johnson is a freelance writer who lives in Ohio. She has a passion for assisting in sending the gospel to the Arabic speaking population. She has a book of poetry available entitled Between My God and Me. To order Debbie's book, send her an e-mail.
