Waiting: December 12, 2011

WAITING

DEFINITION:

Remain; expecting something; patient anticipation; a delay; a stay.

SCRIPTURE:

But those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:31.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

God is the one that formed us. He knows our talents and abilities as well as our weaknesses. He knows every detail of our decision making and the potential results of every decision we make. He knows what is best for our life. And when we have our faith in Him He has a plan for us motivated by wisdom and love and He will execute what He has for us in His perfect timing.

This at times can be very difficult for us to accept especially if it involves waiting. For some reason God wants patience to be part of His plans for us. He does this because He wants to teach us to trust and yield our longings to Him. We demonstrate surrender and humility to God when we submit to His timetable. And for most believers this is very difficult.

God also gave us another option which is the free will to choose His plan or do it our way. So many times when life does not go just the way we want it we will try to make things happen in our power. But very rarely does this work and it always leads to disappointment and difficulty which causes us to miss God’s best for our life.

The verse we have put above from Isaiah contains rich promises that we can claim throughout life and God always keeps His Word. As believers we are to believe with faith, anticipate with hope and wait quietly with patience.

Waiting on the Lord takes patience especially when waiting means enduring hardship. David had to endure much hardship waiting on the Lord. While David was just a young boy God directed Samuel to anoint him to be king after Saul. David had to wait many years before taking the throne. During those years David had opportunity to kill Saul and speed up God’s time table. David chose to wait on the Lord. In his Psalm 40:1 David said, “I waited patiently for the Lord.”

We encourage you to embrace whatever situation you are in today. If it is a time for waiting, choose to learn patience, trusting that His plan for your life is always going to be better than your own. Walking in His will requires us to remain sensitive to His voice. He will protect us from making mistakes when we wait upon Him and are ready to listen to Him in His perfect timing.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Proverbs 20:11.

Even a child is known by his deeds, whether what he does is pure and right.

PRAYER:

Help me to learn to wait patiently upon You with an attitude of expecting something big to happen for Your glory. Help my family to also learn to wait upon You. Help us to prayerfully make decisions together in our home as You lead us. Give us the strength to wait on You for your perfect timing.