By Toni Ford
I’m not sure about you, but I’m currently in the middle of a season of waiting on the Lord for wisdom, direction and my next steps. I ‘m waiting to hear His voice regarding several areas of my life. Often, nothing tries my faith like waiting on God for answers to prayer. This fast-paced world we live in, where most things are easily at our fingertips, makes waiting even harder.
One of my constant prayers during this season of waiting is, “Lord please don’t let me get ahead of You or lag behind You due to my own lack of faith. Especially, don’t let me manipulate or control things to make them happen like I think they should.”
I truly long to stay in step with the Lord, and I’m sure we’ve all learned from our past that running ahead of God only brings strife, exhaustion and ultimately, failure. God’s Word gives us examples of those who took matters into their own hand, not only showing the results of those outcomes but also the affect they had on multiple people for many generations. Think of Abraham with Ishmael, Saul’s usurping the role of a priest, Israel looking to Egypt for help (Isaiah 30:1-3) or walking in the light of our own fire (Isaiah 50:11).
God is all powerful, so why does He make us wait? Perhaps the waiting is less about the answer to our request and more about God revealing more of who He is and who we are in Him. God is revealing His perfections and His impeccable ability to oversee every detail. God’s timing is split-second. He is omniscient, omnipresent and omni-caring. He works all and in all. He gives confirmations of His ability to be always present in ALL things. God gives us assurances of His real power over the enemy that is not seen.
I often want proof in order to see my answers visibly in the physical realm, but Hebrews 11:1 reminds us that faith is the substance, not the evidence, of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen. The Holy Spirit says, “I am giving you the substance of faith.” The Holy Spirit helps to focus us and gives us the grace to await the purposes of the Lord until the precise moment when God gives evidence that He was working all along. Waiting is not necessarily resignation from all activity; it is submission to God’s better idea. Waiting on God means that all of my life is brought under God’s umbrella of authority and direction.
Thankfully in God’s Word, He tells us how to wait:
Psalm 37:7: Patiently. “Be still in the presence of the Lord and wait patiently for him to act.”
Romans 8:25: Confidently. “But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.”
Hebrews 6:15; Patiently. “Then Abraham waited patiently, and he received what God had promised.”
Psalm 27:14: Courageously. “Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.”
Psalm 123:2: Expectantly. “We keep looking to the Lord our God for his mercy, just as servants keep their eyes on their master, as a slave girl watches her mistress for the slightest signal.”
Lamentations 3:24: Assuredly. “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him.”
Psalm 62:5: Single-mindedly. “Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him.”
Isaiah 26:9: Desiring Him. “All night long I search for you; in the morning I earnestly seek for God.”
Micah 7:7: Expectantly. “As for me, I look to the Lord for help. I wait confidently for God to save me and my God will certainly hear me.”
Romans 8:19: Eagerly. “For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are.”
Lamentations 3:26: Quietly. “So it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the Lord.”
Lord, we ask You to give us the strength to wait on You and to trust that in the waiting, You are working in all things. David said it beautifully in the Psalms, and we declare and decree these same words today in our own lives: “The Lord is my strength and shield. I trust Him with all my heart.” Yes, and Amen!
If you would like me to join you in prayer, please e-mail me at tonif77@gmail.com. I would love to pray for you!
