We've been talking alot about troubles, fears and worry and sitting at the Lord's feet. Today I want to talk, more, specifically, about waiting on the Lord. When we have a close relationship with the Lord, we will hear his, "Wait!"; we might not like it, think it's untimely, that it makes no common sense or even think it seems irresponsible! But the fact of the matter is we need to HEAR his wait! It's important to wait on Him or he wouldn't have ask us to!
Psalm 27:14 says, "Wait on the Lord, take heart (courage) and wait on the Lord."
Waiting on the Lord takes courage, it takes effort on our part; courage to move against the fear; courage not to move in our anxieties, courage to wait! What do we do while we wait?
First of all, I encourage you to choose faith, choose to believe that God is at work on your behalf! Choose to believe in Him and that He has your best interest at heart! He has a plan and a purpose, trust Him! Wait, patiently, without wavering! I know it's hard, it's easier to do something, anything, but wait!
I struggle with this too! Our generation is busy, our pace of life can be demanding. We, can be worn out and weary and have trouble being still and even feel guilty when we know we need to rest in Him. Take heart, God has a purpose for the wait!
Putting our focus on the Lord, during this time, will help us remain calm and at peace. Time spent with the Lord and in His word will sustain us in our affliction, our suffering, or yes, our waiting! Choose to wait! Choose to put your focus on the Lord, not on the problems. This will take discipline, it will require constant attention, but it will make a difference in choosing joy over misery! This is our part, our responsibility in the waiting!
Isaiah 26:3 says, "You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is stayed on Thee."
Psalm 119:92 says, "If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction. I will never forget your precepts."
God's truths sustain us and give us hope, they, also, dispel the lies we tell ourselves about our situation and the lies the enemy, Satan, will want us to believe. Don't let Satan get a foothold, he wants to cause you to stumble, he will tell you lies, he will want you to believe God doesn't care or has forgotten you! Don't believe them! The Lord's desire is to see us walk in victory and peace; draw near to God and He will draw near to you! When you begin to wither and feel the lack of peace run, immediately, to Him! Let Him dispel your fears; let His truths dispel the lies!
Make a conscious decision to choose joy!
Make a conscious decision to choose joy!
Psalm 1: 1-3 says,
"Blessed (happy) is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.
But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by the streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither, whatever he does prospers."
Psalm 119:1-3 says,
"Blessed (happy) are they whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord.
Blessed (happy) are they who keep His statutes and seek Him with all their heart. They do nothing wrong; they walk in His ways."
We, also, continue to do what God's given us to do! If you have a job and are waiting on another job, you continue to work at the job God has given you, as if unto the Lord! Do it in such a way that it is pleasing to the Lord. Losing your focus, and getting caught up in your circumstances isn't going to help your standing in the job you already have. If you have a family, you love them and provide for them. Don't take your circumstances out on those you love! If you are jobless, look to the Lord to meet that need, He can and will! Look to Him! If you are sick or injured, whether feeling overwhelmed or completely board, believe God has your best interest in mind; trust that He will take care of you and all your needs! Be patient, give Him room to work, He's rarely early, but never late! (That's in His timing, not yours!) If you have to sit still, choose to enjoy it! Relax! Do what you can to look at your situation, with a positive outlook and through God's perspective. Be teachable, be flexible and wait on the Lord!
We all hate to wait! Waiting has become an inconvenience in our world and we have become a very impatient people! Waiting is a part of life and we can choose to be joyful while we wait or choose to be miserable and cause those around us to be miserable with us! It's our choice!
Waiting when done, in the Lord, can really be enjoyable! Yeah, I know, it's hard, that's because it has to be done, in the Lord! What do I mean? We have to choose to focus on Him, to believe the wait is for a purpose and will turn out for our good! We have to believe that God has our best interest at heart. It requires a intimate relationship and TIME SPENT WITH the Lord. To know God's character so, intimately, can allow us to trust Him, in the midst of the waiting. When we come to know Him, we have experienced His faithfulness, in past hardships, and NOW, is the time to recall how He met you in those difficulties in the past. Recall how God has blessed you in the past, through times of waiting. How has God blessed you in the past through hardships? The faith stories from your past, those spiritual markers, the places in your life where God met you, (where you were) in a personal way, are great memories to recall right now! They will build your faith and in encourage your heart and can cause you to soar by even, the memory of them!
When David was talking to Saul about confronting Goliath, David recalled the times, as a shepherd, that God helped him fight off the lion and the bear, from his flock of sheep. It, caused him to remember how God had provided strength and victory, when David was up against something much bigger than himself! It gave him a heart filled with faith, enough faith, to believe God could use him to take down, a giant, like Goliath! Are you facing a giant?
If you are wanting control, there's plenty within your reach, within your God given responsibility, even in the waiting! Choose to enjoy this time, you know how, it's a choice! Your responsibility, what God has given you to do (work, family, therapy, healing, whatever), your relationship with Him, your attitude, your perspective, trusting Him! Work on those and let God do the rest! Picture the Lord holding you, right in the midst of it all and leading you out! He can and will! Have the faith to wait on the Lord and you will come out of this on the other side, with a great story of God's faithfulness! God is "blessing my socks off" right in the middle of the greatest loss of my life! With great trials, come great blessings, when you are focus on Him! Hang in there, my friend, I'm praying for you!
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