Patience: Waiting on the Lord

"Yet those who wait for the LORD will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary." - Isaiah 40:31

"The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, To the person who seeks Him." - Lamentations 3:25

"I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the LORD." -Psalm 27:13-14

" 'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not calamity to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.' " -Jeremiah 29:11-13

The promises of God! What more could we place our hope and assurance in? Unfortunately, there are plenty of things that we choose to put our hope in, instead of God. However, the truth remains the same! God is and always will be, the greatest hope that we have!

So, the challenge in today's study is to wait patiently on the LORD! What does that look like for you??? I have no idea! The greatest thing about our God is that He works in the individual's life in ways that speak to them and specifically edify them. What I glean from a verse about waiting on the Lord, may not be the same verse that will cause you to find hope and assurance. However, I also believe that God uses other people, sometimes, to minister to those who are in need of assurance and hope. That is why I would continue this blog... and because I am also edified by this study, myself.

This whole study comprises what I have been lacking and yet desire to grow in my life. So, I'm asking you to join me in waiting on the Lord. Too often we run ahead in life and do not take time to consider the ramifications of certain choices that we may make... but God is also a faithful Healer and the Restorer of our souls.

Consider, though, the results of waiting on the Lord... the heartache we could avoid by not jumping headlong into one relationship after another, the financial mistakes that we could have easily avoided with godly council from others... If we could trust God in these areas instead, and wait for His perfect plan for our lives like He said in Jeremiah 29... think about it! He knows the plans that He has, we don't! I am pretty good at messing things up in life. Rarely, if ever, do I seem capable of getting things right on my own! It is only in the times that I stop and pray that God would be my guide... those are the times that I can move, confidently, forward and know that it's all going to work out okay. The promises of God are not made idly by one who cannot fulfill them! He IS faithful!

Therefore, I see no reason why we can't be patient and wait on the Lord... and then I walk out the door of my own home... I walk into a world where being busy and impatient is the name of the game. There the trial begins! Will I hold firmly to what I believe? Or will I succumb to the ideology that we must have everything now, no matter what the cost? There is a price to be paid for immediate pleasure... I just pray that it isn't my soul with which I am forced to pay! Oh, how I would rather delight myself in the Lord, but our society doesn't understand such things... so, I will not find any help there. However, there is no reason why we cannot call together faithful brothers and sisters in Christ, and spend time in fellowship and encouragement with one another. To wait patiently on the Lord, requires that we know the promises and reasons for our waiting... otherwise we would be hard-pressed to wait patiently! If a child is told to wait before crossing a street, but never told of the dangers of crossing alone, there is very little conviction to obey the command. However, if the child understands that their father is concerned for their well-being, then the command is seen in the light of the love that the Father has for his child. Such is our faith in God! Understand that our Father is only loving us when He tells us not to do certain things, but rather to wait for Him and for His timing! Patience does not come easily, but it is necessary for a vibrant relationship with a God who speaks in a still, small voice. He does not come to us in an earthquake, or in a thunderous roar... but just as He did in the days of old, He speaks through His word, and His faithful followers. Listen, friends, for the voice of God to be heard in your quiet times! Delve deep into the recesses of your soul and, once your there, listen quietly, patiently, and eagerly, for the words of a faithful Father to be whispered into your soul.

For you literalists out there, I do not mean an actual audible voice, just for clarification! I mean that God speaks through the promises of His word, and through fellow believers and what they have gleaned from the living Word of God. He speaks through circumstances, and even through gardening! I will use myself as an example here...

I was having a rough morning, one day, and I had just trudged into work. I was feeling quite down because, the night before, I had opened my home to several friends for a gathering and, during that time, I felt like I was very much watching everyone else have a good time in my home without me being a part of it. I felt like I was watching the party from the outside. Everyone else was enjoying themselves, but they were doing so in my home, and I was no part of it... This left me with a sinking feeling and I was in no way excited about work the next day... to say the least.
So, that morning, when my boss asked me how I was doing, I decided to be quite honest for a change! I told him that things weren't going so well and that I was feeling quite down. He didn't say much about my problem, but he did get right to the business at hand that morning. "I need you to prune the roses today," he said to me, "I'll show you how on the first one, and then you can take it from there." He grabbed a sharp pair of pruners and we were off to the roses.
"You see where all of these dead branches are?" he asked me, "I need you to cut all of them off of these roses, they're not doing the plant any good anyways. You can see where, below the dead branches, new leaves will form nice new branches. I want you to prune right above that new growth. Pruning out the old growth will encourage the new growth!"
To make a long story short... I spent several hours that day being reminded just how much pruning is a necessity in a believer's life. I had felt the pruning shears of my Father, and I was none to excited about having my old growth (my security I had place in friendships) being pruned out of me. I can tell you now, though, that this experience has caused me to understand more about relying on our Heavenly Father, rather than on friends or possessions, for fulfillment.
Back to the point of this lesson! God used a rose bush and a pair of pruners to speak to my heart! In case you haven't checked lately... neither one of those things can speak in an audible voice! He used His own handiwork in nature to speak into the deepest longing of my soul. I just had to listen quietly enough to hear Him.

Listen quietly, friends, for the still small voice of God. Listen patiently... He will speak! "You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart." (Jeremiah 29:13) And remember that He is found in the quiet... the still, small voice! Patience, my friends, He will speak! He knows the plans that He has for you! I guarantee you, they are better than whatever plans you might already have!

Grace and Peace!

Questions or Comments? E-mail me at afflquestions@yahoo.com .