Waiting

WAITING

Psalm 27:14 – “Hope in the Lord; be strong, be of good cheer and hope in the Lord.”

Do you think that God uses waiting to change us?

Have you ever seen a 3-year-old when they tell him or her to wait? We agree that children do not want to wait for anything. The last thing kids want to hear is for mom to say, “Not now.” This can cause them anger and frustration. I am sure this negative feeling of waiting follows us into our adult years. We may not respond with the same emotional outbursts as children, but most of us still don’t like to wait. Let’s think about some situations in which we have to wait:

Waiting for school to end; Waiting in line at the grocery store; Waiting at the doctor’s office; Waiting for your food; Waiting for the Christmas holidays to begin.

I think something really happens while nothing is happening.

God uses waiting to change us.

The work of the Christian life is like the work in a field. A farmer has a lot of work to do and a lot of time to wait before he can harvest the crop. His work goes from before sunrise to well after sunset. He must clear the land, open the fields, create the rows, plant the crops, cultivate and weed the plants, water the lands, and wait patiently for months before seeing the fruit of his labor. Waiting during this time is essential, and he must remain constantly vigilant to make sure that insects do not destroy the crop. And yet, even while he is investing all this backbreaking work, the farmer receives no pay at all. 

What do you think keeps the farmer going? He keeps giving all he has because of the promise of the harvest. The time of harvest will bring a great reward, and the reward will make all your labors worthwhile.

And just like the farmer, we must continue to give all we have because of God’s promise. The Scriptures tell us what the result will be if we wait.  Isaiah 40:31 tells us exactly what the result of waiting on God is: “But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will fly like eagles; They will run and not get tired, they will walk and they will not faint.”

God wants us to learn to follow Him and to let go of our demanding selves, to calm that screaming child inside us. One way He helps us do this is to use silence and feel His words telling us, “Wait.” That uncomfortable and sometimes painful state of silence is one of God’s most powerful tools to set us free.

Paul encourages us in Galatians 6:9-10: “So let us not grow weary in doing good. At the right time, we will reap a harvest of blessing if we do not give up.” As human beings, it is inevitable that we will not feel tired, need strength or rest. When that happens, let us remember what Jesus advised us to do in Matthew 11:28: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

Finally, Jesus also says John 15:4-7: “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” The scriptures remind us today that we are strong because of Him. Waiting is always better when we stay in it.

By dear friend of Flourishings E.G.