When we are doing everything we know to do and we do not see results frustration can set in. Waiting on God is not an easy task.
Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord. Psalm 27:14
I know. The scripture can seem as a slam almost. It can hurt even. Does God know what I am going through? Does anyone care?
We have all been there at one time or other.
But God said…
Maybe it was a dream you had where God showed you something amazing or perhaps someone prophesied over you in a revival meeting and we just knew good things were about to happen.
We have prayed, fasted, did our very best to trust in God, and yet the results we wanted did not happen. We think to ourselves ‘what did we do wrong?’ It must be someone’s fault somehow. God answers prayer right?
Impatience & Disappointment
One of our biggest hurdles in trusting God is learning to deal with our own impatience and being disappointed that things did not happen the way we expected. We analyze and try and fix it. Maybe if we did it another way. Maybe we need to pray more. Maybe we need to move. We become driven to do something rather than just waiting on the Lord. The problem we have becomes so big in our mind that in time we cannot see beyond it. Our problem begins to define who we are and defeat becomes our address.
We lose sight of the promises God has already given us, and our complexion, our attitude, our lives show it. We begin to blame others as well as ourselves.
Confessions
So, the last few days have been like this for me. Yes, I am still recovering from surgery a couple weeks ago. Doctors are very encouraged that they got all the tumor out of my body, and that I am recovering well. You would think I would be happy and more content than I have been in a while, right? Nope.
I have been discouraged because a couple of things I have been really needing were no longer available now that I have the money to buy it. And then it was service day today and I went excited ready with a message on ‘Trusting God’ and guess what? No one showed up. No one! There is always at least a few show up at each service, but today when I was all prepared and looking past my disappointment from the last few days, nobody shows up to hear what I prayed about and prepared.
So, after waiting the allotted time, just in case some were late, or perhaps overslept, I started thinking about the promises God has given me and began to wonder if it was all me? Did I do something to mess it up? Was it just my imagination? Maybe God really doesn’t want to use me after all. I am trying to do the will of God.
So why is it so hard? I came home feeling defeat as I changed clothes. I had forgotten that most of the time when we face difficulties when we are in the process of trying to do what we feel God has called us to do that trouble is going to show up.
Delay Is NOT Denial
There are a multitude of passages of scripture where prayer was given by the prophets and nothing happened. There were delays in reaching the promise land. Even Jesus had to pray a couple of times more than once for someone to be healed. We focus on the have-not instead of what we do have. Our eyes get off the promise. Consider Abraham. God promised. Abraham got impatient, he compromised, the promise still came, and become of the compromise those two tribes from one family have been fighting for thousands of years.
So why do we stress about it? Its simple. We are afraid. We look at our abilities and realize that the promises of God are not in our control.
The delay or the slowing of progress does not mean He isn’t going to come through. It isn’t a punishment or discipline, although being raised on the pew we tend to think so, delay can actually be a gift.
How many times do we say we don’t have enough time? How many times do we wish we had more than two hands? We need a break?
But most of us really do not want that. We think hurrying through life, being busy, getting it done soon so we can move on to the next project. We think we have to be busy or it cannot happen.
Slow Down
We get afraid if things slow down then the promise won’t happen. We are afraid of what God might say in that slower moment; we are afraid of what He might ask of us; we are afraid of what we might see happening; and we are afraid of how we will react to a change in the situation. When sometimes all we need is to take a breath and realize that we are not the ones in charge.
We get afraid because we don’t trust God. Ironic isn’t it. Here I was going to preaching about trusting God, and I am faced with my own dilemmas about trusting Him.
Waiting on God
Did you ever stop to think that waiting on God might be the most important part? Not getting in such a hurry that we mess it up? If God said… doesn’t that mean it is going to take place? Or is God a liar? If He said it, it will happen.
So I came home in my defeat and discouragement and got online and in moments came across a message.
Let Your Disaster Move You To Your Deliverance – Jeff Arnold
See the thing is we get so busy worrying, trying to do something to make it happen, we miss out on those quiet messages from God that move us toward our destiny. Elijah kept looking for God in the fire, the earthquake, and the wind, but God was in the stillness, in the quiet, in the waiting.
So next time it looks like the answer isn’t coming, or the promise has been denied, take a few moments with God and just wait patiently in Him.
