Waiting on the Lord

We hate to wait. In the hustle and bustle of modern society, few things frustrate us so much as having to wait. Yet it seems like we are constantly being put in the position of having to wait for things. We can take that baggage and carry it over into our being required to wait on God. And the Bible makes it clear that we are required to wait on God (Isaiah 40:31; Psalms 62:5-8; 123:2). We are also called to trust in God, even if we do get the thing we are waiting for on our time schedule (Proverbs 3:5,6; Hebrews 11:6; Psalms 46:10). Moses was a shepherd for forty years before God called him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt (Acts 7:23-35). Paul stayed a number of years in Tarsus before God put him into the ministry he was called to do (Galatians 1:21-2:1). Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob dwelt many years in the land of Canaan without seeing the promises (Hebrews 11:9-10). Joseph had to live many years in slavery before God delivered and exalted him (Acts 7:9,10). God also calls for us to wait for Him to do what He wants to accomplish in our lives.
 
What, then, should we do when we are in a situation of waiting on God? First, we should not give up hope (Galatians 6:9-10; Hebrews 11:13-16; Psalms 42:11). Now when I say this I need to add that sometimes we can be mistaken about what God wants to do in our lives, and we may need to reevaluate the direction we are headed. What we should not give up on is God accomplishing the purpose He has in mind for us (Ephesians 2:10; Romans 8:28; 2 Corinthians 3:5,6). We should not be discouraged by the setbacks we encounter on the way to God’s delivering us from our current situation (Luke 8:40-56; Genesis 39:19,20; 40:23). We need to realize that our specific prayers may not be granted, and we need to go on with God in spite of this (2 Corinthians 12:7-10; Matthew 26:39; Jeremiah 7:16). We need to avoid trying, in our impatience, to accomplish God’s purposes in the wrong way (Genesis 16:1-4; Isaiah 31:1; Numbers 14:39-45). We need to continue on with the task God has given us to do while we are waiting. Whether this is watching sheep (Exodus 3:1) or doing the work of a slave (Genesis 39:4-6) or preaching in custody(Acts 28:23-30), we are to do those things we are called to do well, as unto God (Colossians 3:23.24; 1 Corinthians 10:31; Romans 12:11). With that, there also needs to be an examination of our lives to see if there is something there that is preventing God from doing what He wants to do in our lives (Psalms 139:23,24; 1 Corinthians 11:28-32; Hebrews 12:12-13). But most of all, we should not give up waiting on God and trusting Him with our lives.