God proves to be good to the man who passionately waits, to the woman who diligently seeks. It’s a good thing to quietly hope, quietly hope for help from God.
~Lamentations 3:25-26 (The Message)
~Lamentations 3:25-26 (The Message)
Waiting on God is no easy feat. It is even harder when it deals with things that we are desperate for like the the reconciliation of marriages, being able to conceive a child or being healed from an illness. The wait is so hard because we don't have a clue what the outcome of all this waiting will be. Will God answer our prayers the way we hope He will, or will He let the wait yield disappointing results?
Not only is the wait hard because we don't know what to expect when the wait is over, but waiting on God is often painful. We have this promise that He will bring blessings out of the wait if we trust Him, but more often than not, what we see happening before our eyes looks like everything but a blessing.
This is the season I am walking through right now. Some days I wait graciously, expecting that day to be the day that I see God's deliverance be manifested, but when He doesn't deliver as I expected, I'm more like a three year old kid having a temper tantrum because I can't have ice cream before dinner. Sometimes it feels like God is playing some kind of game with my heart, and I don't understand why the God of the universe is allowing me to stay in this season of hurt and disappointment.
Like I said, waiting on God is no easy feat; however, it is necessary. As much as this season of my life hurts, I know that God is absolutely NOT playing any games with my heart, and He has purpose for why He has asked me to wait. That's right, I said that God asked me to wait. You see, when we are in a season of waiting on God, it is His personal invitation to us to trust Him and to let Him work in us while He is working for us.
God doesn't bend our will and make us wait. We have a choice as to whether we will wait or try to take matters into our own hands. God has invited me to wait in other seasons of my life, but because the wait seemed so long and I wanted to alleviate myself of the pain that the wait brought, I never fully accepted His invitation to trust Him during those past waiting seasons. This time I decided to wholeheartedly accept His invitation to wait, and even though some days are truly so painful I am seeing the blessings of the wait.
In seasons of waiting, God helps us enter into deeper relationship with Him. Have you ever noticed that when you are waiting on God to answer a deep longing, you stay in constant communication with Him? Whether it be through prayer, reading His Word or frequently crying out to Him, in the waiting season we are constantly seeking God. In this waiting season, as I have been staying in God's presence, I realize that my longing for God is so much greater than my longing for Him to bless the outcome for what I am praying. You see, even if He gives me what I am waiting for exactly as I am hoping, I realize that I don't want the blessing without Him being at the center of it. So, as I am waiting, God is filling me with more of His love and grace, and there is no other relationship that can satisfy my longings the way that God's love is doing, has always done and will always do (Psalm 63:1 - The Msg).
God uses the waiting seasons in our lives to refine us. In the refining process, God is burning away impurities and the lies of the enemy from our hearts and minds so we can truly begin to see ourselves as God sees us. God sees us a being loved, and because He loves us He wants to heal the holes in our souls so we can move forward in accomplishing the things He has purposed for us to do for His glory. So, in this waiting season of mine, God has been healing me from old ways of thinking and delivering me from insecurities that have caused me to live a life that is less than His best for me.
God also uses the waiting season to refine us to be more of an image of Jesus Christ. In the waiting season, He allows the fire of the season we are in to burn off unrighteousness, and He gives us a garment of righteousness through faith in Christ. Yes, God wants to bless us with gifts but the greatest gift He wants to give us is hope through Jesus Christ. Regardless of what else comes at the end of this waiting season, the one thing I am sure of is that once I have been refined, when I call on God, He will answer and say, "Scheri is my daughter", and I will say, "The Lord is my God" (Zechariah 13:9). This is what He will do for each of us who call ourselves children of God and those of us who walk in covenant with Him.
It is good for us to passionately and patiently wait on God. Because His thoughts and ways are not finite like ours, when He brings us out of the waiting season we will see blessings far greater than the blessings for which we are praying. Learning to wait on God and not act on our own behalves is so important in the lives of believers. Waiting passionately and patiently produces great fruit and the world around us gets to see what it looks like to wait on God patiently and then be delivered victoriously through Christ.
The blessings I am receiving from the wait are these: God is showing me that He is fighting for me and this battle belongs to Him (1 Samuel 17:47); God is setting me up for a big win (Psalm 108:13); God is making me look more like His Son Jesus Christ (Romans 8:29); and God is dispelling every lie that the enemy ever told me. He is removing the lie that I am weak (Isaiah 40:31). He assures me that I am not rejected (Ephesians 1:6). God promises that I am never alone (Joshua 1:5). He tells me that I was strategically made (Psalm 139:14). And He reminds me that I am more than worthy (John 3:16).
Waiting may be hard and sometimes seems downright impossible, but the God of our salvation will always, ALWAYS bring us to His expected end. Fight hard to humble yourself in the waiting season so you can see all the lessons taught and all the blessings given because of your faithfulness in the wait.
Not only is the wait hard because we don't know what to expect when the wait is over, but waiting on God is often painful. We have this promise that He will bring blessings out of the wait if we trust Him, but more often than not, what we see happening before our eyes looks like everything but a blessing.
This is the season I am walking through right now. Some days I wait graciously, expecting that day to be the day that I see God's deliverance be manifested, but when He doesn't deliver as I expected, I'm more like a three year old kid having a temper tantrum because I can't have ice cream before dinner. Sometimes it feels like God is playing some kind of game with my heart, and I don't understand why the God of the universe is allowing me to stay in this season of hurt and disappointment.
Like I said, waiting on God is no easy feat; however, it is necessary. As much as this season of my life hurts, I know that God is absolutely NOT playing any games with my heart, and He has purpose for why He has asked me to wait. That's right, I said that God asked me to wait. You see, when we are in a season of waiting on God, it is His personal invitation to us to trust Him and to let Him work in us while He is working for us.
God doesn't bend our will and make us wait. We have a choice as to whether we will wait or try to take matters into our own hands. God has invited me to wait in other seasons of my life, but because the wait seemed so long and I wanted to alleviate myself of the pain that the wait brought, I never fully accepted His invitation to trust Him during those past waiting seasons. This time I decided to wholeheartedly accept His invitation to wait, and even though some days are truly so painful I am seeing the blessings of the wait.
In seasons of waiting, God helps us enter into deeper relationship with Him. Have you ever noticed that when you are waiting on God to answer a deep longing, you stay in constant communication with Him? Whether it be through prayer, reading His Word or frequently crying out to Him, in the waiting season we are constantly seeking God. In this waiting season, as I have been staying in God's presence, I realize that my longing for God is so much greater than my longing for Him to bless the outcome for what I am praying. You see, even if He gives me what I am waiting for exactly as I am hoping, I realize that I don't want the blessing without Him being at the center of it. So, as I am waiting, God is filling me with more of His love and grace, and there is no other relationship that can satisfy my longings the way that God's love is doing, has always done and will always do (Psalm 63:1 - The Msg).
God uses the waiting seasons in our lives to refine us. In the refining process, God is burning away impurities and the lies of the enemy from our hearts and minds so we can truly begin to see ourselves as God sees us. God sees us a being loved, and because He loves us He wants to heal the holes in our souls so we can move forward in accomplishing the things He has purposed for us to do for His glory. So, in this waiting season of mine, God has been healing me from old ways of thinking and delivering me from insecurities that have caused me to live a life that is less than His best for me.
God also uses the waiting season to refine us to be more of an image of Jesus Christ. In the waiting season, He allows the fire of the season we are in to burn off unrighteousness, and He gives us a garment of righteousness through faith in Christ. Yes, God wants to bless us with gifts but the greatest gift He wants to give us is hope through Jesus Christ. Regardless of what else comes at the end of this waiting season, the one thing I am sure of is that once I have been refined, when I call on God, He will answer and say, "Scheri is my daughter", and I will say, "The Lord is my God" (Zechariah 13:9). This is what He will do for each of us who call ourselves children of God and those of us who walk in covenant with Him.
It is good for us to passionately and patiently wait on God. Because His thoughts and ways are not finite like ours, when He brings us out of the waiting season we will see blessings far greater than the blessings for which we are praying. Learning to wait on God and not act on our own behalves is so important in the lives of believers. Waiting passionately and patiently produces great fruit and the world around us gets to see what it looks like to wait on God patiently and then be delivered victoriously through Christ.
The blessings I am receiving from the wait are these: God is showing me that He is fighting for me and this battle belongs to Him (1 Samuel 17:47); God is setting me up for a big win (Psalm 108:13); God is making me look more like His Son Jesus Christ (Romans 8:29); and God is dispelling every lie that the enemy ever told me. He is removing the lie that I am weak (Isaiah 40:31). He assures me that I am not rejected (Ephesians 1:6). God promises that I am never alone (Joshua 1:5). He tells me that I was strategically made (Psalm 139:14). And He reminds me that I am more than worthy (John 3:16).
Waiting may be hard and sometimes seems downright impossible, but the God of our salvation will always, ALWAYS bring us to His expected end. Fight hard to humble yourself in the waiting season so you can see all the lessons taught and all the blessings given because of your faithfulness in the wait.