PSALM 37:5-7 – Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. 6 He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday. 7 Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!
THEME OF THE DAY. GOD’S SCHOOL OF WAITING. Let’s face it. Waiting is hard. Maybe harder for some, but there is a little impatience in all of us. Whether it is something as simple as waiting for a family member to get ready for an event we are already late for or something far more significant, like some medical test results to be received, waiting may be difficult. And when it comes to our walks with the Lord, He will enroll all His children in His “school of waiting” to teach us valuable spiritual lessons. Today, let’s think about two things we may learn when in God’s school of waiting.
First, waiting develops patient submission to the often mysterious, but good ways of the Lord. King Solomon tells us, “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” (Proverb 3:5-6). If we were to “peel back the layers” on submission, we will really see it for what it is; trust – a confidence in God and His work in our lives. And this type of trust is developed through waiting upon God to act and that will always try our patience. Look again at today’s scripture and see what comes before God acting; submission and trust. So, don’t get impatiently impulsive when God delays in answering our prayers or seems slow to act. He is at work developing patience in us.
A second thing waiting does in God’s children is deepen one’s commitment to persevering prayer. Want to get close to the Lord? Be a man or woman of persevering prayer. Want to be a man or woman of persevering prayer? Keep in the prayer closet even when God appears distant and disinterested. A great illustration of this is given by Jesus in The Parable of the Persistent Widow – And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. 2 He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. 3 And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ 4 For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’ ” 6 And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. 7 And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? 8 I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” (Luke 18:1-8). We learn to really pray when God calls us to wait upon Him to answer prayer and act. We become “desperate” in a good way and seek Him more earnestly.
It isn’t easy to wait on anything, but we find waiting most difficult when longing for God to act on our behalf in a trying time or situation. And should He delay, don’t let the devil try to convince us God’s doesn’t care. His delay is not His denial. In fact, He is actually at work in His delay. He is teaching us patience and how to pray.
PRAYER: “Father, please prevent me from rushing headlong into a situation or decision without waiting on You.”
QUOTE: “Waiting on the Lord is not just about getting direction. It also includes learning patience and perseverance.”