Waiting on God

Churchplanters.com conducts seminars and conferences all over the country, the largest this year being Velocity-12.   I have never been privileged to attend, but did follow the Velocity-12 updates online.  One in particular that I  found is Pete Wilson, who pastors a church in Nashville. His keynote message dealt with our waiting on God. 

There was a lot for me to learn from Pete Wilson.  I considered ways to share some of that with you, and chose the blog, and of course,  some additional comments. My hat is off to Pete for stimulating my thinking and stirring my heart through such a dynamic message.

Many of us have experienced the frustrations which accompany God's apparent silence when we are active in seeking his direction for our dreams and hopes.  Faithful Christians struggle with God's silence, sometimes to the point of doubting God's love and concern.  That brings us to a very important lesson we can learn about waiting on God.  1.  Just because your hopes and dreams are not happening immediately, doesn't mean they are not going to happen.  When Jesus was summoned to come to his sick friend Lazarus, he waited and couple of days before he went, and Lazarus died before he got there. Our perspective of knowing the story of raising Lazarus from the tomb allows us to see the purpose for the Lord's delay.  When will we ever learn?  God may respond in 2 seconds, or he may wait 2 days, or 2 years.  Our faith should remain in the spiritual reality that God will answer.  Waiting on God should never diminish our faith.  Instead it can give faith an opportunity to grow as we anticipate his answer. 

Another of the misunderstandings we have while waiting on God happens when we have expectations that haven't materialized.  Those projects that we feel God has been blessing, suddenly slow down. The growth we prayed about isn't happening.  The outcome of some needed teaching doesn't happen.  Here is something else we need to learn.  2. When things aren't happening according to your schedule, it is not an indication that God is doing something bad to you.  Satan makes great strides in attacking us when he gets us to thinking the reason for delay is caused by God's punishment.   In addition to our faith, we also need to develop some trust in God.

Human nature causes us to wonder what God is doing during these times when we are waiting on him. Is he too busy? Has he overextended his prayer answering and put us on hold?  Is there a message for us here?  3. Perhaps there is an area where you need to grow before God responds. The picture I get here is our questioning God for making us wait, while God is waiting on us to get ourselves ready to receive his answer and blessing.  There is a great tendency on our part to allow doubt, complaints and dangerous questioning of God, during a time when we should be continuing in prayer, faith and trust. 

So it looks as though our plans do not always coincide with God's plans and timing.  Look at what God tells Isaiah, "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts" Isaiah 55:9. I will also interpret that to mean God's timing is always better than ours. 

What is your take on the idea of having to wait on God?  Are we prone to be more demanding while we wait oh him? There is one more point.  4. When God is silent, it doesn't mean he is absent.  He still promises to be with us and in us. While our human side detects he is not answering, we jump to the conclusion he isn't even listening. Nothing could be farther from the truth.  He is there.  He still cares. He knows what is best. Through faith, trust and continued prayer, may we learn to wait on him.  Your homework today is to memorize Isaiah 40:31.

Leave a comment or stories about your experience with waiting on God.    <ronbwriting@yahoo.com>