By: Erlinda Mejia-Olson
PSALM 62:5-7 ~ "My soul, wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be moved. In God is my salvation and my glory; the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God."
How many people truly love to wait? We grumble when we are forced to wait in rush hour traffic or to stand in the checkout line for more than two minutes. We loathe waiting for appointments or other professional meetings. We have attuned ourselves to live in an age of "instant results" —instant search engine result, instant messaging system, instant foods, instant pain medications, instant self-checkout lines, fast food restaurant, drive-thru banking system, computers and cellular phones which are getting faster and faster, instant dating service, and perhaps, instant wedding chapel as well. We live in a society that is driven to find faster, more efficient ways of doing things ... living life—nearly everything to be instant!
We have turned out to be a generation of intolerant ... accustomed to acquiring things immediately ... we've grown to be a "to go ... "I gotta go ... "right now" society. But what happens then when we are forced to wait? How do we react when results aren't immediate? Many people whine, murmur, or even lash out at others connected to the situation. Many times Christians take that same "immediate result" mentality into their Christian life. They have a problem, seek God for help, and expect God to answer instantly. But God's timetable for results isn't the same as ours. One of the biggest challenges in the life of a Christian is learning to wait on the Lord. We detest waiting, yet God tells us that waiting only strenghtens our dependence upon Him. He tells us time and again in His Word that His answers often take a period of waiting:
PSALM 62:5-7 ~ "My soul, wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be moved. In God is my salvation and my glory; the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God."
How many people truly love to wait? We grumble when we are forced to wait in rush hour traffic or to stand in the checkout line for more than two minutes. We loathe waiting for appointments or other professional meetings. We have attuned ourselves to live in an age of "instant results" —instant search engine result, instant messaging system, instant foods, instant pain medications, instant self-checkout lines, fast food restaurant, drive-thru banking system, computers and cellular phones which are getting faster and faster, instant dating service, and perhaps, instant wedding chapel as well. We live in a society that is driven to find faster, more efficient ways of doing things ... living life—nearly everything to be instant!
We have turned out to be a generation of intolerant ... accustomed to acquiring things immediately ... we've grown to be a "to go ... "I gotta go ... "right now" society. But what happens then when we are forced to wait? How do we react when results aren't immediate? Many people whine, murmur, or even lash out at others connected to the situation. Many times Christians take that same "immediate result" mentality into their Christian life. They have a problem, seek God for help, and expect God to answer instantly. But God's timetable for results isn't the same as ours. One of the biggest challenges in the life of a Christian is learning to wait on the Lord. We detest waiting, yet God tells us that waiting only strenghtens our dependence upon Him. He tells us time and again in His Word that His answers often take a period of waiting:
Psalm 27:14 - Wait on the LORD; Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD!
Psalm 37:7 - "Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass."
Isaiah 40:31 - "But those who wait on 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."
In 2 Samuel 3:1-5, David waited in Hebron for seven and a half years after King Saul's death. David was going to be king over Israel, but God had him wait on His perfect timing. David learned the importance of waiting throughout his life—he waited in his father's fields for his chance to make a difference, he waited in the hills of Israel for the day he would be crowned king, and he waited in Hebron for God's perfect timing.
I have learned, as I seek the Lord in His Word, that He has great things instore for our lives, but we must endure a period of waiting before God's plan is revealed. I have also learned that God's silence doesn't mean that He has forgotten us ... nor He's saying "yes or no" to our prayer petitions. God's silence is an invitation for us to seek Him more diligently ... to be waiting fervently on Him ... waiting patiently for His perfect timing to come to pass. What would have happened had David tired of waiting in his father's shepherd's fields? Had David given up, he would have missed the blessing of leading Israel to follow God.
I have learned that if you give up during times of waiting, we are giving up God's eternal blessings in our lives. God has so much good waiting for us. He wants to richly bless us, yet we must patiently wait on His timing. Practice not the immediate result mentality into your Christian life, but strengthen your dependence on God by constantly seeking His Word ... laying all your expectations in God ... waiting for God patiently in Christ Jesus.
"And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:19)
