You Gotta Learn To Wait! - No. 08

Isaiah 30:18, "Therefore will the Lord wait, that He may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the Lord is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him."

My dear friend, can I let you in on a little secret? To walk with God you will need to learn how to wait. God is a God who waits! He waits to answer our prayers. He waits to be gracious to us. He waits for His right time to bring deliverance to us.

Oh how hard it is to wait. We don’t like it. We want to have our prayers answered immediately. We want things to work out the way we want them right now. We are impatient because we live in time. But dear friend, God doesn’t live in time. He lives in the eternal world. He governs the world from an eternal perspective. He watches over our lives from the eternal realm. And He knows what He is doing. He has everything in control. He is never too early and never a day too late.

Because God is a Father, He shows His father heart to us when we are first born into His family. When we become a believer, we are born again into the family of God and are little babes in Christ. God ministers to us as a baby. He meets all our needs and answers all our prayers in the same way we constantly minister to the needs of our little nursing baby.

Of course, we would be distraught if our little baby didn’t grow up and learn to do things for himself. As our children grow older, we don’t continue to run to their every need. God also wants us to grow and mature. He wants our faith to be purified. He wants us to learn to trust Him and love Him, not for what He does for us but for who He is.

Do you want to grow and mature in your faith? Then learn to wait. Deliberately quieten your restless heart and wait for Him. Trust Him. He hasn’t forgotten you. He longs to be gracious to you and show you His compassion but He knows that you will grow stronger and more mature as you learn to wait. If you keep jumping up and down and demanding God to do what you want Him to do immediately, you are still in the baby stage.

Wait for God to bring His answers to you. They don’t always come quickly. Often we don’t receive God’s answer because we don’t wait long enough. Wait for God’s provision. When you need something, don’t rush out and buy it immediately. Have patience and wait. Give God time to show His provision. You will be amazed at how God will provide if you give Him time!

How should you wait?

1. Patiently.

Psalm 37:7 says, "Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him." (Psalm 40:1) This is only a little verse but if you put it into practice, it will work wonders in your life. You might like to print this verse out and pin it up where you can see it all through the day. You might like to make it a memory verse for the whole family.

2. Quietly.

Lamentations 3:26 says, "It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord."

{mospagebreak} 

As you learn to wait, dear mother, it will bring a rest to your soul. It will bring rest into your home. Also, as your children observe your example, they too will learn how to wait. This is an experience that many modern day children have never learned. They are used to getting whatever they want when they want it. In doing so, they don’t experience the feeling of the "longing and expectation of waiting." They miss out on the "wonder" of this feeling.

As a child I can remember the longing and anticipation I felt as we waited from one Christmas to the next to receive our Christmas gifts. We didn’t get things through the year. Christmas was the time we received gifts from our parents and loved ones. As a child it seemed an eternity to wait from one Christmas to the next. The anticipation was hardly bearable. But it made the receiving of the gifts incredibly exciting. The joy was heightened and intensified because of the anticipation and waiting.

The Bible also talks about the expectation of waiting. Psalm 62:5, "My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from Him."

Waiting is good for the soul and good for the character.

There are two different aspects to waiting: waiting for God and waiting on God. We have been talking about waiting for God. What about waiting on God? I believe this means to look up to the Lord in every circumstance of our life and each moment of the day. Instead of looking at the problem, look up to the Lord in expectation. Keep your eyes upon Him. Rely on Him, not on your own judgment or intelligence. How often should we do this?

1. All day long!

Psalm 25:5, "On thee do I wait all the day."

2. Continually!

Hosea 6:12, "Wait on thy God continually."

It’s a lifestyle of waiting on the Lord. Would you like to start making this a habit of your life? Start today. Start right now.

Look at all the blessings you will receive as you live this lifestyle.

1. You will not be ashamed. God will never let you down. Psalm 25:3; Isaiah 49:23.

2. You will inherit the earth. Psalm 37:9.

3. You will be blessed. Isaiah 30:18.

4. God will strengthen your heart. Psalm 27:14.

5. God will be your help and shield. Psalm 33:20.

6. God will save you. Proverbs 20:22; Isaiah 25:9.

7. God will renew your strength. Isaiah 40:31.

8. God will be good to you. Lamentations 3:25.

And you’ve just got to read Isaiah 64:4, "For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him."

May you be a woman who knows how to wait.

Love from NANCY CAMPBELL

PRAYER:

"Lord, teach me how to wait on you. Help me to quietly wait in patience for your perfect answer. Save me from aborting what you want to do in my life and the life of my family. Lead me into a lifestyle of waiting upon you continually. Amen."

QUOTE:

Psalm 46:10, "Be still, and know that I am God."

P.S.

Check out the poem about called "Wait" on the "Weekly Poem for Mothers." It will really bless you.