“Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.” –Psalm 27:14 (KJV)
Much of life is spent waiting. We wait for the hot water before we shower. Then we wait for our
Keurig to finish brewing. We wait for the dog to finish relieving herself. We wait at traffic lights and then wait for emails at work. We wait for our lunch order at Panera’s. We wait for closing time, at the grocery store, for the kids at practice, and for dinner to finish. Wait, wait, wait forever it seems! Life is spent waiting but the emphasis should be placed on how we wait and not how long. What if how we wait determined the outcome of what we received?
How many times have you heard that God’s answers are “Yes, No, or Wait?” Let’s dig deeper to find out if there is any validity. God says “Yes” to everything that He has promised. This means that if we pray to God and have asked him for something that aligns with His Word, His answer will be “Yes” (2 Corinthians 1:20). He doesn’t say “No”, or “Wait”, or even “Maybe.” God does not tease us, and He will not confuse us. God is unchanging thus if He decided a thing, it is so! If God’s Word says “Yes”, then that’s it. Beware, simply because God approves of thing that we ask for by His Word. This does not automatically give us the thing the moment we ask. Sometimes, we must wait and according to King David, waiting can be quite rewarding.
Throughout scripture we are encouraged to wait on God. If we received everything the day we asked for it, we would not experience the joy of deliverance or triumphant victory. Upon waiting through our trials, we will grow in patience, experience, and also hope (Romans 5:3-5). We gain strength when we wait on and put our hope in God alone (Psalm 31:24). Often times, while we are waiting for God to show up, the enemy comes in and tries to discourage us. He pushes us to be impatient and tells us that we should be worrying instead of waiting. We began to see our brothers and sisters reach and obtain their goals through manifested
prayers, while the green-eyed monster rears his ugly head within us. Instead of waiting patiently, we become frustrated and angry with God, demanding to know why He has not come to our rescue. Yet God’s timing is perfect and that is why although scripture doesn’t specifically say God answers us by telling us to wait, the pioneers of faith encouraged us to do so anyways. The Hebrew boys refused to bow to King Nebuchadnezzar and waited on God to deliver them from the fiery furnace. God showed up! Because Daniel prayed faithfully
(against the law at that time), he was thrown in the lion’s den, faced certain death, yet he waited for deliverance. God showed up! Father Abraham and Sarah (Abram and Sarai) waited 25 years for their promised son. God showed up and even made Sarah laugh in disbelief! Jacob waited 14 years to have Rachel as his wife. His son Joseph waited as a servant and a prisoner before he was made second in command in Egypt. David, anointed king as a young boy, waited his turn for the throne and ruled as God knew him to be, a man after God’s own heart.
We should strive to be like David, knowing that “all things work together for good for those who love the Lord.” He will give us strength, courage, undeniable peace, and a testimony to share with others on how God came through for us! While we wait, we need to minister to the Lord, praising Him, worshiping, and seeking His face. God says we will find Him when we seek Him with our whole hearts. Not only will we find Him but a mountain of blessings as well (Jeremiah 29:14). Like a farmer awaiting harvest, we know that our seed is in the ground and will produce a crop. We sow, weed out choking distractions, nourish, and check back in faith, believing that one day soon, we will see something wonderful. Not only is the plant like the
Word of God but this plant is like our faith. We can grow our mustard seed depending upon how we minister to it. The question is: will you spend your time patiently ministering to or impatiently monitoring God’s promises?
