Who Likes to Wait?

WHO LIKES TO WAIT?  
I don’t…and if we are honest, most of us would agree; waiting is the pits! And the truth is, we are born with an innate tendency to do what we want to do when we want to do it. Our flesh recoils at the thought of having to wait, and yet God’s Word commands us to wait on the Lord. Sometimes we think of waiting as sitting back, doing nothing until we are giving some kind of direction or sign from God as to what to do. However, biblically speaking, waiting is NOT a passive event.  In fact to WAIT requires a lot of EFFORT.  To wait requires the discipline of saying “no” to our impulsive, “got to have it now” natures and rather STRIVING to live in ACTIVE submission to the revealed WORD and WILL of GOD.  To wait on the LORD is an act of OBEDIENCE to Him.  Thus, not waiting on the LORD is disobedience.  

I have been forced to meditate or consider this discipline of WAITING on the LORD.  Over the next few days, I will post some of what I have found and thus have been pondering, praying over, struggling through and, hopefully finding victory with by the grace of God.  If this helps you, praise the LORD!  So here is my first devotional pondering about WAITING on the LORD.

Waiting on the Lord is HARD 

In Psalm 27:14 David wrote, “Wait for the LORD; be strong and let your heart take courage; yes, wait for the Lord.” Waiting on the Lord requires self-discipline. Rushing ahead to fulfill our own will is not difficult at all, it comes naturally, easily. However, surrendering to the will and ways of God, submitting to the authority of the Word, requires a constant resistance to the flesh. Self-denial is the daily duty of all those who claim to be disciples of Jesus. 

In Luke 9:23 Jesus said, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.” We must, therefore, be realistic and approach the concept of waiting on the Lord with a great deal of vigilance lest we usurp God’s timetable. At the same time, we must be careful not to use, “I am waiting on the Lord,” as an excuse for delayed obedience or a lack of self-discipline.  I shared this working definition of obedience with the youth group recently; doing God’s will; God’s way; right away!  Thus, waiting on the LORD is an act of obedience whereby I ACTIVELY pursue God and His ways, right away rather than default to me and my ways.  That is not easy, but it is my prayer!