“Waiting”
Are you tired of living a defeated Christian life? Why not check out this video.
He stood at the window waiting. All day he waited. At three years old, the promise of Grandma and Grandpa arriving consumed him. I could not distract him to play or to color or to ride his bike. He was waiting. His child mind could not comprehend the eight hour drive. I knew the time would go faster, be more enjoyable and maybe even productive if he left the window. Yet he waited…and it seemed to be agonizingly long!
I realized that I am often like that with God. I want to trust Him for an answer to my circumstance, my question or my longing. So I wait for His answer and at times it seems agonizingly long. And I worry.
Sometimes when God’s answer seems to take too long I find myself beginning to lose heart. Trust in my God can waver. (“Are they REALLY coming, Mommy?”) Fear and anxiety consume me as I wonder what the outcome will be.
Then God speaks. His Word touches my heart and He tells me what to do.
“Wait on the Lord. Be of good courage and He shall strengthen your heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord” (Psalm 27:14, NIV).
Suddenly I realize I am not waiting on the Lord. I am simply waiting on an answer. Waiting on an answer is so empty. It consumes me and distracts me from other things God would have me do or focus on. His Word tells me to be strong, to wait on Him for my strength. Wait on Him…not simply on an answer.
So I turn from the window, from the waiting on the arrival of my answer. I lean on Him to draw courage and strength. I ask Him to point me in the direction of what He wants me to do today…and my waiting changes. It changes from anxious, distracted worry to a more productive waiting. Waiting that says, “I can trust you with this, Lord. Help me to be renewed in my strength and to focus on accomplishing what is in front of me today.”
Think it through…
As you wait for God’s intervention, what step can you take to turn your eyes to God and not just the answer you are waiting for? Pinpoint what your specific anxiety is. What responsibility is this worry keeping you from? Think of a time in the past when God came through with His answer in your life.
Pray it in…
Ask God to help you pick up the task in front of you and draw strength from Him. Ask Him for courage and a focus on Him while you wait. Ask Him to show you what He would have you do in this time of waiting. How can you be His hands and feet today?
Work it out…
You can choose to trust God to strengthen you to do what He has set in your path today. Days, weeks, even months and years can be wasted if we put our focus on waiting and worrying and not on God. Today you can have a heart that draws strength from the God of the universe, in spite of the question marks punctuating your life!
Questions: What does “waiting on the Lord” mean to you? Why is it sometimes so difficult? Why do you suppose God does not always answer our prayers immediately?
About the Author Gail Rodgers
Daily audio podcast: A second daily devotional, Practicing the Presence, today on the Men’s Devotional Blog
Tags: anxiety, bike, circumstance, courage, defeated, distracted, gail rodgers, grandma, grandpa, intervention, pray, promise, waited, worry
9 Responses to ““Waiting””
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Lisa,
If you haven’t already noticed, the first reply to this devotional is dated Aug. 8/09. Today is December 5/10. Is it coincidental that you see this devotional at this time in this trial of your life? To God a thousand years means one day. Our perception of time is not of His. So if you’ve just seen this devotional today and it has prompted you to respond to it, the Lord God is doing His will in your life. Patience is a virtue and patience is (for myself) one of the hardest emotions to conquer. Remember that ‘impatience’ is Satan’s tool, not God’s. Ask in prayer, continue to ask in prayer, and through perseverance God will know what’s true in your heart. It’s His will, nothing more, nothing less, nothing else.
God bless you Lisa
I pray that the Lord will help me to focus on Him and worship Him during this time of wanting to have children yet unable to.
This must not be a coincidence that I find this site and reading it. I am waiting and still waiting on God to heal and restore my marriage. Yes I get weary and it has been very hard, but I will wait on Him.
hi linda j i ‘m not on the blog to much although i do read the devotionals. i’m pretty busy right now with the grand kids here all day now that school is out. but it starts back next week and will have more time. thank you for thinking of me
Hi all ladies, haven’t been to this blog for a long time! But whenever I come here, I feel it’s like a home to me.
God has His own time and has His own way. We need to be patient and be still. And listen to His whisper to us.
Sharon b, I miss your meaningful emails. Haven’t heard from you for so long! How are you now and how about your husband Bill? I’m sure he has recovered from his hip surgery! Please send to: lindaji2008@gmail.com
God bless you all on this blog!
sometimes it is hard to wait but we must learn God works in His own time
Thank you Gail for this devotional.
I have only one word for you Mugs–AMEN!
Waiting on God means to be still. It means to wait and listen for an answer from God. We live such busy lives and we want it right now!
I think God wants us to trust him and he has us wait and learn Patience! He knows what is best!
Thank you, Gail, for today’s devotional. I love your guidance the Lord gives to you to share with us. It is often what I would call “every day” practicatibility. It is so applicable in our every day lives. It speaks to us. And I learn from it.
Bless you for your work you do for the Lord.
Blessings, Judy D