You’ve prayed. You’ve cried. You’ve hoped.
And still the answer is wait.
In those moments where it seems God’s only answer is wait, and there is no end in sight, what do you do? Why does it seem we so often receive that answer for things we so desperately long for? Why is it so hard to trust when God does say “not now, my child”?
When we don’t receive the answers we so desperately wish, it is easy to be tempted to grow bitter, impatient, or stall spiritually because “life isn’t perfect!”
The enemy wants nothing more in this situation than for you to take your eyes off of Christ and onto your problems or unanswered prayer. But friend, might I challenge you with this thought?
Maybe God is trying to teach us some things through the waiting.
Perhaps he is seeking to be your all in all. That in the waiting, you would realize he is enough for you, and as Psalm 73:25-26 so beautiful says, “Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart fail; but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”
Maybe in this time, he is wanting you to draw closer and closer to him, and to have him become the joy and delight of your heart. In this season, we can learn what it is to have peace and joy in Christ, no matter what our circumstances are.
Perhaps he is molding and shaping your heart and life to be in accordance to his will for you, as voiced in Psalm 37:4…“Delight yourself also in the Lord, and he shall give you the desires of your heart.”
Maybe your desire is not in line with his perfect plan for your life, or perhaps he is protecting you from something by asking you to wait. We know this truth: “We know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”
Perhaps he is strengthening your trust in him and bringing you to a fuller dependence on him. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths.”
What if he is showing you that your path is not his path, and as you wait upon him, “Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left.”
Perhaps he is preparing you for the very thing you ask for. “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”
Whenever God takes us through a challenging time, we can endure the pain in his strength if we cling to the hope that in the end we will discover that it all was for a purpose. We can know that someday it will be worth it. Whether your waiting ends in what you were ultimately praying for, or in something else, God does have a purpose for this. With love in his kind eyes, the Lord will continue to guide you as you trust him. He is continuing to mold us into his likeness and prepare us for his purposes.
Whenever God takes us through a challenging time, we can endure the pain in his strength if we cling to the hope that in the end we will discover that it all was for a purpose. Click To Tweet
Perhaps God is wanting to show you more of his love. As we wait upon the Lord, it is an opportunity for Christ’s gentle arms to encircle our hearts and allow us to discover how very much he loves us. Elizabeth Elliot once made a very wise statement…“God has promised to supply our needs. What we don’t have now we don’t need now.”
As we wait upon the Lord, it is an opportunity for Christ’s gentle arms to encircle our hearts and allow us to discover how very much he loves us. Click To Tweet
He who is not bound by time can see the beginning and end of the story of your life. He is writing a beautiful tale that one day you will be able to look back on and say, “Amen, God, You knew what You were doing.”
“Not without design does God write the music of our lives. Be it ours to learn the tune, and not be dismayed at the ‘rests.’ They are not to be slurred over, not to be omitted, not to destroy the melody, not to change the keynote. If we look up, God himself will beat the time for us. With the eye on him, we shall strike the next note full and clear. If we sadly say to ourselves , ‘There is no music in a rest,’ let us not forget ‘There is the making of music in it.’ The making of music is often a slow and painful process in this life. How patiently God works to teach us! How long he waits for us to learn the lesson!” – Ruskin
Ah, Lord God, is anything too hard for You?
No. You are my God, and I will trust You.
I will wait on You.
“I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord!” (Psalm 27:13-14)
“My soul, wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be moved. In God is my salvation and my glory; the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God. Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. Selah.” (Psalm 62:5-8)
