“Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.” (Psalm 27:14 NLT)
Learning to wait patiently is likely among the lessons human beings take the longest to learn. Why do you think that is? Could it have anything to do with our priorities? My tendency, as I suspect yours, is to want to be put first. We don’t do lines very well, unless we’re at the head and Lord help the poor sap who tries to cut in front of us!
On the other hand, have you ever kept someone else waiting? “They’ll just have to get over themselves!” “I’m worth waiting for!”
Have you ever been stranded along the road? I have many times, especially when I was in college. That was long before cell phones, so I usually had one of two options: wait for someone to stop or start walking to see if I could find someone to help. One time, remembering the other times I’d run out of gas, knowing my old VW was running on fumes, I pulled into a station. There was no money or credit cards in my wallet and none in my pocket.
So, my only recourse was to see if the cashier would take a check – are you ready for this? A check for one dollar! That would have bought me a couple of gallons and I was confident that would get me home. Apparently, I looked the role of a penniless college student because he turned me down and told me to go someplace else! By God’s grace I finally got someone to take my check and I got back to school.
What’s my point? In our infatuation with ourselves we often forget how often the Lord has waited on us. He’s waited not only for us to come to our senses and seek Him for forgiveness and new life, but also for our obedience once we’ve yielded our lives to Him.
C. H. Spurgeon wrote: “We will not grow weary of waiting upon God if we remember how long and how graciously He once waited on us.” There are prayers I’ve lifted to the Lord for years, but I rarely get anxious or troubled by His seeming delay. Someone told me early in my walk with the Lord that “God’s clock keeps perfect time!” He’s never too early or too late, He’s always right on time!
While as a younger man I didn’t always believe that, I do now. What made the difference? Two things. First, I know the Lord better now, but second, I know myself better now. The Lord understands better than we ever will, not only what’s going on in our lives, but also in the lives of those whose lives He’s preparing us to intersect.
Who in your life needs the Lord? A family member? A friend? A neighbor? Co-worker? Classmate? The list may be long and you’re constantly wondering why God hasn’t heard your prayers. “What’s He waiting for?” may be a concern you haven’t voiced to anyone, yet it tugs at your heart. What if He’s waiting on you?
Perhaps a reasonable question for us to ask ourselves is this: “What is the Lord prompting ME to do? What might I do to help the person or persons for whom I’m praying see their need of the Lord more clearly?” And, honestly, maybe you’ve done all you can do, but they’re still not budging. What then?
We may not always know the mind of God, but we do know His heart, and His heart is to desire every lost person to come to Him. So, we wait, realizing we’re never waiting alone.
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 