TRUST

It takes a great amount of self-control to ward of instant gratification.  In this day and age of new technology and the innovation of “stuff” we always want new things RIGHT NOW.  Some worse than others.  When it comes to the major issues in our lives, we pray of them.  Prayers are free but we should also realize that when you request God for something and expect him to grant your wish, it should also line up with his will for your life.  We often hear, and the bible also tells us, that when God answers our prayers, he does it in HIS time, not ours.  In our culture, we are used to instant gratification and materialistically, we fulfill those desires ourselves.  With God it’s different.   

Patience is one of God’s most valuable principle.  The reason why God wants us to wait is to protect us from self-destruction.  Psalm 27:14 It takes a strong person to face temptation for something that God has for them later and to say you are willing to wait.  Patience is this: I am willing to wait upon God and remove all the deadlines.  You cannot give God a deadline, the most sovereign of the universe.  What kind of relationship would you have with God, the one who knows what’s best for you, when you give him an ultimatum?

We gain Courage when we wait on the Lord.  There is character in a person who has the strength to wait for God’s best in their life (Psalm 25:3) If you’re afraid that if you don’t get it now then you may never get it and eventually make you look like a failure.  You never have to think about what people think or say when you are being obedient to God.  It doesn’t make a difference what they think.  When you wait for God’s timing, you are waiting for the only kind God gives you, his very best.  Don’t fight God and think you know what is best for you.  God only acts on our behalf in the best way.  We have to wait for his timing, his direction.  Psalm 37:34 NLV.  Don’t be impatient for God to act, keep steadily along his pathway and in due season, he will honor you with his blessing, because that’s what he’s planned for us, in light of his purpose.

Wait for his timing and direction.  Whatever your desire may be, if you are willing to wait for his time and direction, you will get what the will of God is in your life, most of us call it a “Blessing in disguise”  You will get something better than what you expected and deserve because that is the kind of God he is. 

What’s the reason to wait?  Why doesn’t God just give it right now? First, because he’s preparing us for it.  He may want to change certain things about you.  For example, God instructed Joshua to march around the city of Jericho seven times.  Joshua asked how are they supposed to defeat the people in Jericho by marching around it?  Here’s the wisdom of God. What is he doing? He wasn’t getting the Israelites ready, he’s getting the people in Jericho ready.  He was causing confusion, fear, frustration, anxiety by the 7^th time they had marched around, the people in Jericho were in total disarray and emotionally defeated before the walls ever came down.  You ask anyone in the military, what is the longest moment in a battle? They will say, the moments you have to wait before you pull the trigger.  What was God doing to Jericho?  He was destroying the sense of courage, self-ability, and willingness and ability to fight because all they can see is marching.  He was working on their behalf to save multitude of lives.  Otherwise, they would have had to work harder in building items necessary to wage war, instead all they did was march.  Your life may seem like a parade, like nothing is happening but really God is doing something behind the scenes. 

I wonder how many times God would have given you what you asked for if you would just wait for his timing.  Don’t step ahead of God, he already knows what’s going to happen, you can’t change his plans and you will never go wrong if you wait on the Lord.  He knows every detail of our lives, he knows what you like and whether or not it is the best for you.   He knows that you will regret the day that you disappoint him so he says, not now.  Wait.  God always has a purpose for us when he tells us to wait.  God acts on behalf of those who wait for him.  He is preparing the circumstance, he’s purifying our motives.  He has to make the circumstances right and get the motive right.  He is teaching us to trust him. God will not grant us our desires unless it matches with his will.  God will give you clear direction at this point, he’ll say, Trust me and wait.  Your unwillingness to wait for God, it’s saying I don’t trust you God.

God has another purpose for making us wait and that is to make an impact not only in our lives but also to those who watched you get the blessing and known that you chose to wait on God instead of taking their advice.  It sends an awesome testimony.  The reality, truthfulness and worthiness of God, you win and the people around you win. 

Have a blessed week and Love one another!