Purposeful Waiting

'But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.'

Isaiah 40:31

Waiting on the Lord.

We are always waiting for one thing or the day but funny enough, while we wait, we are also living in one answered prayer or other. While we wait, let’s develop the attitude of gratitude. You prayed for a job, and God gave you a job but now you are praying and waiting for a promotion. Why don’t you be grateful for the fact that you actually have a job and you can earn some money whereas other people you finished school with for the past 2, 5 or 10 years are still looking for Jobs. Or you might be waiting to get married. No one has come forward to ask for your hand in marriage. I encourage you to be grateful. Be grateful that God has kept you in good health and that He is keeping the wrong man away from you and preparing your own kind of man for you. In your waiting period, seek to find God’s own purpose for your life so that you even know what to look out for when the men come your way.

Or in your own case, you prayed for a good man to marry you and God answered your prayers. Your marriage is beautiful and full of love but now you are praying for a child and it has kind of delayed. Why don’t you thank God and be grateful for that beautiful marriage of yours while you wait for God’s gift of your child. Why don’t you show God that you appreciate the gift of your job or marriage by enjoying that current role or marriage while you wait and trust in God for his answered prayers. I encourage all of us, me included to be grateful in our waiting period. Be grateful that you are alive and healthy when so many people are dying around us. Gratitude in waiting helps to ease the burden of waiting and allows you focus on the greatness of God. I want to encourage us to have a Thank You List, or Gratitude list. Write in this list, all the things that God has done for you, all your answered prayers and even the things that you know God prevented from happening to you and your family. Whenever you feel like you are at the end of the rope, look at this list and remember God’s goodness, might and power and be comforted that He will never ever let you down.

The second point I want to establish is about God’s timing. I have realized that God has a time for the manifestation of things in every one’s life. God’s timing may not be the exact timing that we wish. God’s timing may even be very far from our own expected timing. God’s timing may not even make any sense to us but remember that God’s timing is always always perfect for our lives and for his purpose. Habakkuk 2:3 says, 'For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay. '

There is always God’s appointed time for every vision.

Additionally, Psalm 1:1-3 says 'Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord , and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. '

The part I want to highlight is the vs 3, He is like a tree planted by the streams of water, that yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither. In all he does, he prospers. The fruit yielding is in a season. It is at it’s own season, not someone else season, but in its season.

Therefore remember this, whatever you have asked from God, in line with His will, would be made manifest in God’s own perfect time for our lives and note that God’s timing as are His plans for us, are for our good and not evil, and will give us a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11. So while we wait, let’s remember and have it at the back of our minds that God’s timing would always be better than our timing.

The next thing I want to highlight is that, our waiting period is always preparatory ground for the next stages in our lives if you allow it to be. Waiting births characteristics and qualities relevant and necessary for the next stages in our lives. So one thing to ask God in your waiting period is this: “My Father, what do you want me to learn, while I wait for that breakthrough or answered prayer.” In this time, seek to learn all that God wants you to learn and seek to grow, develop characteristics relevant for the next stage you are seeking.

Yes, whatever you are going through might be super painful and unbearable for you but I want to encourage you that there is always something to be birthed in you while you wait.

One common characteristic that the waiting period births, is patience. Patience, because you realize that there are certain things that you cannot control and it might actually take some time before coming to fruition no matter how fast you want it. It is at the point where you accept this, that patience is birthed in you. When Patience is birthed, though your breakthrough has not arrived or your prayer has not been answered, instead of being filled with anxiety, you take it one day and one step at a time, trusting in God’s timing each moment, each day and trusting in His ultimate plan for your life.

Another example is when you have applied for job(s) and are waiting to be employed. You can learn a new skill or start studying for some certification which you know can help you do better or excel at the role you are seeking. For me this is also an act of faith. Here you are training for the role or position even though you are currently not occupying it because you believe and know that you can get that role. I encourage that don’t just sit there doing nothing while you wait. Allow God to birth good characteristics in you and strive to learn something new.

Additionally, waiting is the time to draw closer to God, not the time to stop trusting him or move away from Him. Remember God created us and has a plan for each person’s life. You might be destined to take left and I might be destined to take right. While we wait we need to seek God’s plan for our lives. Waiting is when God should be at the center of our life. Waiting is where everything about our lives should be about pleasing God and living for Him. Waiting is where our focus should be glued on or to God.

Now let’s look at Matthew 14:28-32: 'And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. '

Peter began to walk on the water when Jesus called out to him and he focused on Jesus. But the scriptures say, when he saw the wind, fear gripped him and he began to sink. When Peter started walking on the water, the wind was still there but because His focus was on Jesus, he was able to start walking. Once his attention diverted to the wind and he started looking around, His confidence and faith was shaken and he began to sink. The problem might be staring at us in the face. Others might be moving up while we might be stagnant but please keep focusing on God and look unto him alone, keep trusting and believe God and he will cause you to walk on water.

We have to imbibe these scriptures especially in our waiting time. While we wait, our focus must be on God and developing intimacy with him. With intimacy, we gain access and influence in the world because whispered words from a place of intimacy can be more powerful that shouted petitions from courts. As we draw close and worship him in earnest and whisper words to God from a place of intimacy, we realize that our attention is drawn more to the power and majesty of God and every problem becomes minute. Especially because we realize more, the omnipotence and Lordship of the King in overcoming any problem or issue we face and in the world at large. And how do we draw closer. We drawer closer by interacting more with the word of God: Reading, Studying, Meditating, Listening and memorizing the scriptures all in a bid to know and understand God more. We also draw closer by fellowship with God through intimate prayer, praise, thanksgiving and worship all by the power of the Holy Spirit. Remember the Holy Spirit teaches us how to better worship, serve and draw closer to God therefore if we don’t have the Holy Spirit, the waiting time can also be the time where we seek and receive the Holy Spirit and learn to allow him comfort, counsel, lead and teach us each step of our life’s journey.

Now as we draw closer and closer to God and allow the Holy Spirit to lead us, we begin to trust completely in God. In this place of trust is where God’s peace rules in our lives in the midst of the storms just like Peter, allowing him to walk on the water. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” When we trust completely, we acknowledge him and when we acknowledge him, he makes straight our paths. And please Note: God always has our best interest at heart.

With the trust and peace comes rest in God and His plans for our lives. The place of rest in God is where we should all seek to be while we wait on God. REST! REST! REST! REST! REST! REST! REST!!!! I don’t think I can say it enough. When we rest in God, we are not moved by the happenings around us or the comments of people around us. When we rest in God, we believe in God’s promises and fear dissipates. When we rest in God, no matter what the world is saying, we only believe what God says. When we rest in God we seek to align our desires, emotions, thinking to God’s desires, emotions and thinking and once they are aligned, the fact that we are waiting does not seem so bad or it begins to look better than it did before and that desperation that we felt due to our problems goes away.

While I write and speak about this, I know very well that whatever you are going through might not be easy and especially the waiting might be seriously difficult but I just want to encourage us to draw closer to God during this period and focus on him like you have never done before, while being grateful for the good things he has done before and He will definitely carry you. God richly bless you.

NEVER GIVE UP! NEVER STOP PRAYING! KEEP BELIEVING! KEEP TRUSTING IN GOD! BECAUSE HE ALWAYS HAS YOUR BEST INTEREST AT HEART ALWAYS! , AND YOUR ANSWER WILL BE MADE MANIFEST AT THE APPOINTED TIME!