"Actively Waiting"

“I waited patiently for the Lord to help me, and He turned to me and heard my cry.” (Psalms 40:1, NLT) If we are completely honest, waiting upon the Lord is not one of the things we can say we truly enjoy. We are a people spoiled by time – and so very often controlled by it – we want what we want yester-moment! Sadly, I have to admit that in some areas, I struggle with this common issue of impatience. For instance, I tend to rush the microwave along when cooking a frozen dinner by leaving it in for 2:35 seconds in lieu of instructed 3 minutes (maybe that’s why I sometimes hit those cold bites every now and then … yuck!) Or what about the issue of stoplights – now there is a topic that I can preach a sermon on when it comes to waiting/patience! This reminds me of a true story I heard a few months ago of a kindergarten class that was learning their colors. The teacher was asking her class about colors they see while driving with mommy and daddy. The teacher asked one student, “When you are with your parents driving across town and a stoplight turns red, what are mommy and daddy suppose to do?” The child smiled and said “Stop!” “That’s right … what if it turns green?” said the teacher and the child again smiled and responded, “Go!” “What do we do when the stoplight turns yellow?” The child thought for a moment and then gleefully responded, “Go faster!” Our struggles with impatience are on display more times than we would like to admit – before the eyes of our children, before our family & friends and before the world who are always watching closely to see what difference our faith truly makes in life’s journey. That’s why it is even more important to trust God fully when those times arise that we have to wait on Him for an answer to our prayer(s). Psalms 27:14 declares, “Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.” (NLT) ‘Bravery and courage’ comes into play when we are tempted to take matters into our own hands by becoming impatient with God’s timetable of response! But He promises to answer in His divine way and to deliver us from where we are to where He desires us to be - “Wait for the LORD, and He will deliver you.” (Proverbs 20:22) Waiting is not an inactive time – in fact, it is some of the most active times in our journey of faith for it is then that our “trust muscles” are being intently exercised, stretched beyond our own capabilities to a level where we will divinely receive His ‘fresh strength.’ Isaiah 40:31 promises that “those who wait upon God get fresh strength!” (The Message) Whatever you may be waiting on the Lord for, trust Him and His Will to respond in the right way at the right time. As those bold words of confidence declare in Daniel 3:17, “Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us … and He will!” Now there is a divine promise truly worth waiting for to every prayer we uplift to Him! …Selah!
Today's CCM video can be viewed upon clicking the title of the song, "While I'm Waiting" by John Waller.