When God Says Wait

Dear Friends,

When it comes to your dream, your goal, your purpose in life, it can be hard when experiencing times of waiting.  Especially when we are convinced that the dream we have is what God has planted in us. If you're anything like me, you want to see your dreams fulfilled, and you'd like it to be right now.  Yet often there is a period of waiting from when we first realise what God's calling is for our life to when we see it fulfilled.

I have the tendency to want to run ahead of God, instead of moving in step with him. In Galatians 5:25 Paul writes "Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." (NIV). And sometimes God has to remind me to wait.  Recently, God gave me the following verse on three separate occasions, each through a different source, (such as my Bible Promises App on my phone, or an email devotional) in as many weeks.

The verse is Psalm 27:14 "Wait patiently for the Lord.  Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord." (NLT).

Now, when God repeats himself, I know it's important to pay attention!  And I'm so glad he does repeat himself so that his will becomes more clear to me.  He's not like me, who would say to my children when they were younger, "Now listen carefully, because I'm only going to say this once!"

If you know me, you'll know I also like to look at verses using different translations.  It helps me to get a better understanding of what God is wanting to say to me.  I like the wording of the Amplified Bible for this verse: Wait for and confidently expect the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage; yes, wait for and confidently expect the Lord.

So, one translation tells us (twice) to wait patiently for God, and the other one says (twice) we are to wait for and confidently expect God.

The verse reminds me that there is a need to wait for God to act, to wait for his timing, and to wait with an attitude of patience and confident expectation in God.  I can have confidence in him, that he will be true to his Word and that he will do his part as I do mine.

The middle part of the verse tells me to be brave and courageous, or to be strong and let my heart take courage.  At first, the wording seemed strange to me.  Why would I need to be strong?  Why would I need a courageous heart as I wait?

As I've spent time thinking on this, I've come to believe that it is for this reason - that Satan will use this time of waiting to discourage me and to tempt me to give up on my dream.  His oldest tactic, and one that works well, is he tries to get me, to get you, to doubt what God has told us.  It's what he did, right in the beginning, when he said to Eve in the Garden of Eden, "Did God really say...?"  Genesis 3:1 (NLT).  Satan also tried the same tactic on Jesus, twisting God's Word, tempting Jesus, trying to get him to doubt what God had said.  Yet, Jesus withstood Satan's temptation by trusting wholly in God and God's Word.

If I'm not on my guard, if I'm not brave, if my heart is not courageous, I will begin to doubt what God has said, I will start to fear that I heard him wrong, or it was just wishful thinking, or that I've  now missed my time.  That it's just too late for me. That my dream is dead.  This is what Satan wants, he doesn't want God's people to be faithful and he doesn't want us to be passionate about God's calling on us. 

During a waiting period it can be tempting to try to manipulate the situation to get what I want, but again I need to demonstrate patience and wait expectantly for God.  There are so many examples of people who, tired of waiting for God to fulfil his word, would manipulate the situation so that they could experience the fulfilment of what they desired.  But when they took matters in to their own hands the consequences were disastrous.  As in the example of Abraham and Sarah.  They chose their own way to get a son rather than waiting for God to give them their promised son at the right time.  (See Genesis 16 and 21.) Biblical examples such as these remind me not to take matters in to my own hands, not to give in to the temptation, but to wait with confident expectation for God's timing. 

So with a brave faith and courageous heart, I need to keep focused on who God is and what he has said.  Rather than give in to Satan's lies, or give in to the fears and doubts he may sow in my mind.

God's agenda for our waiting time is different to Satan's and it's always for our good.  In the waiting period God is seeking to develop our character, to prepare us and to grow our faith in him.  God is orchestrating things so that we are ready, those around us are ready and so that the circumstances are also right. 

 

As I wait I need to keep close to God, to keep in tune with him so that I know his timing.  It's how Jesus lived his life on earth, he was aware of God's leading and direction, he knew at various stages that his time had not yet come for God's purpose for him to be fulfilled.  Then when the time of waiting was at an end Jesus said, "Now the time has come for the Son of Man to enter into his glory." John 12:23 (NLT).  Jesus kept in close communion with God so that he knew when to wait and when to act.

When God tells us to wait we need to understand what he is saying to us.  He is not saying "No", rather he is saying "Not now".  We must not mistake what we see as a delay as God's denial.

 

To Think About:

Has God given you a dream which has not yet been fulfilled in your life?  Do you sense that God may be saying to you "Wait patiently. Wait with confident expectation.  I will bring it to pass."?

 

During a waiting period whose voice do you pay more attention to - your own? Satan's?  God's?

 

Ask God what he wants you to do while you wait. 

Spend some time meditating on Psalm 27:14. What may God want to be saying to you through this verse?

 

Vicki