The hardest thing we as Christians face is not our trials, and not our needs, or even our discouragements, but it is our ability to be patient and trust the Lord.
It is not the difficulties we face, or even the struggles we go through. Our biggest struggle in our daily lives is not our pain, or the hardships, but rather it is our lack of determination to wait on the Lord to answer.
Jesus knows our needs. The Bible says, "He healeth ALL our diseases." Yet when we are faced with difficulty, we somehow doubt that the scriptures apply to us, and we try to fix it ourselves. There is an old cliche that says, "God helps them who help themselves." Let me be clear God does expect us to live our lives, to be somewhat self reliant, but he doesn't expect His children to stubbornly push thru every trial alone. He doesn't want us to rely on our own abilities to solve every situation, and when an outcome that we don't expect arises, to just accept that it "must be God's will."
Too many times we limit the ability of God to move because WE don't allow HIM to do it. We all face circumstances to which we struggle to understand. Why does sickness prevail? We pay our tithes why are we not getting ahead? The Bible clearly states, " My God shall supply all your needs." Yet, we find ourselves looking around at what we have and seeing someone else with a new car when we are driving the same one a lady in the church let us have for $500. We compare our lives with others and attempt to believe that maybe we need to get another job, or perhaps our aunt was just diagnosed with cancer, and we are searching out all the surgeons we can find to help "fix" the problem.
Is God a man that He can lie? His word is immutable. He cannot lie. The Psalmist says, "while I was yet in my mother's womb, HE knew me."
Our circumstances, our lives, our hardships, our souls, bodies, families, health, finances are in His hands, "if" we leave them there. Therein lies the problem.
There used to be an old song we sang with fervor in our churches. "Take your burdens to the Lord and leave them there." It still applies. He knows about your lost brother, about your mothers' diabetes, and about that friend at work whose house just burned down. He knows our cries in the night, and He hears our prayers.
It has almost become cliche to say when problems arise, "I'll pray about it." Sometimes we do use prayers as a crutch for getting out of a long conversation with some who seem to perpetually have needs. Sometimes a little common sense would help us all. However, part of waiting on God means communing with Him. Really talking to God about it, watching and waiting til the answer comes. We are so busy in our lives, that sometimes we do not wait for the answer, or we expect that the answer isn't coming. I have heard many people say recently, "it never changes." Yes it does.
The Bible says "his mercies are new every morning." It is not his lack of ability to make things happen but rather our lack of patience. The apostle Paul really knew what he was talking about when he said in our "patience, possess ye your soul." We as a generation need to slow down, listen for the voice of God, and be willing to wait.
Take some time and talk to an elder in the Lord. We all have them in our churches. Those who have lived for God their whole lives. Have you ever noticed they are slow but caught in worship. That tear streaming down their cheek. That slowly uplifted hand. That patient understanding when we are doing our holy ghost calisthentics to the new beat of a contemporary song. And yet when the "Old Rugged cross, Amazing Grace, or He's Coming Soon, is sung, you will see a glimmer in their eye a hush in their spirit and a praise come out of their lips. The old songs still move the spirit. But, we have to hurry up, because we have somewhere else to be, our kids have to get up in the morning for school, and we just have to make it to the fast food place before we put them to bed.
SLOW DOWN! Waiting on the Lord is not a matter of our timing but HIS! He knows the end from the beginning, He knows where you are, even knows how hard you got that last hair in place before service and yet its still not quite right. He Knows!
He wont fail. His word says it cannot return void. And for those of us with unbelief, he even said "even if we do not believe, he remaineth faithful, he cannot deny himself." 2 Tim 2:13
Your answer really is on the way. It is not a cliche song. It is coming. Remember the old song, "hold the fort for I am coming, Jesus answers still?" I realize that may be before some who read this articles time, but its still true. He's coming! All he asks is for us to wait on him. Doesn't seem to hard. No big sacrifice, no blood offering, just wait on Jesus.
One of my favorite scriptures in the Bible says, "Hope deferred maketh the heart sick, (so true) but when it comes it is a tree of life." Victory is around the corner. Wait on the Lord! In due season we will reap, if we faint not. Wait I say on the Lord!! God Bless You!