As believers, when we are faced with trying situations, we know to seek God’s guidance and wisdom for answers and direction in our situation. We’ve done that….but what if God ‘takes His time’ to answer us? What if our answer is not instantaneous? What if we see other peoples’ prayers answered before ours? What do we do in that in-between time while we wait on God? I don’t claim to be an expert on this subject, but I am writing about what I am experiencing as we speak!
PURSUE – Don’t give up pursuing and seeking God. Our quiet time in prayer, study and meditation with God will give us the strength to get through the wait time and to overcome the impatience we may experience. In Psalm 27:4, David says that this is the ‘one thing’ that he is seeking after. He is seeking God because “in the day of trouble, he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock” (vs. 5).
PRAISE – Praise help us keep our focus on the right place….God. Again, looking at Psalm 27, David says that “at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the Lord” (vs. 6). Giving praise to God lifts our spirits when we get bogged down in the issues we waiting to hear from God on, and it helps us remember from whence comes our help! (Psalm 121:1)
PRESS – If you are waiting for instructions from God as to what move to make next, ask yourself, ‘what was the last thing God told me to do?’ Whatever that thing is….press on and do it! We are not to sit at home and wait for lightning from Heaven to reveal the answer we are looking for. Are you getting weary while waiting? Again, press on! Be faithful to what God has called you to do, and He will reward your faithfulness. Why should we expect God to bless us with greater ministry, greater reach, greater influence and greater territory, when we are not faithful to the smaller territory that He’s already assigned to us?
PATIENCE – OK Lord, I’ve been seeking Your face, praising You, and pressing on, but nothing is happening! Let’s look back at Psalm 27….verse 14 (NIV) says “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” This is when our faith kicks in…..when the time gets long for our answer, this is when everything we’ve read and heard about God needs to be put into practice. We don’t just say that God is omnipotent, we BELIEVE He is! We don’t just say that He owns the cattle on a thousand hills, we BELIEVE He does! This is where the rubber of our faith meets the road of our life.
Lastly, the thing that underlies all of the above is PRAYER. Continue your conversation with God as you wait. God may have allowed this trial to come into your life to draw your closer to Him, and to enjoy more intimate fellowship with Him. He may have allowed the situation to linger so that He can prepare you for greater works in Him. While we are ‘going through’, our prayer time should not be consumed with just our own needs. Remember those who have greater needs than you, and ask God to show you how you can be a blessing to them!
As you wait on God for your answer or breakthrough, I encourage you (as I encourage myself)….remember who it is that we serve! We serve an all-powerful, all-knowing, sovereign God who is able to do all things well! And remember that ALL things really do work together for the good of them who love God and are called according to his purpose!! Be Blessed!!
© 2009 Brenna Fields Taylor
Leave a Reply