WORTH THE WAIT

Have you thanked Him?

Have you praised Him?

Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?

Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?

1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)

1-3The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

I came home from FREEDOM Monday feeling burdened with a little assignment.  One of my guys was challenged by this “whole waiting thing” when it came to GOD.  Tom Petty even said it was the "hardest part".

But seriously, my friend has something that he feels GOD has endorsed and he is wondering why when all seems to be finally coming together and ready to move forward, something derails the process; something stymies the momentum.

Because our small group was based on Proverbs 3 (trusting GOD and leaving things to Him) you would have thought the answer would be clear and covered.

But truth is, trusting and waiting often don’t align. 

We can cognitively say we are TRUSTING GOD while at the same time be frustrated with HIS timing and HIS process.  We think since WE ARE trusting HIM He should in turn TRUST US and give us what we want because of it.

Well we all know GOD doesn’t work or think the way we do.

Isaiah 55:8 (NIV)

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.

So I wanted to provide a “better answer” or an example for my small group buddy.  So after getting home, I flipped on one of the TBN affiliates and paused on Jentzen Franklin and he was sharing the story of ABRAHAM and SARAH.  He and GOD reminded me of how long ABRAHAM had to wait before GOD fulfilled His promise. 

It was a long time.

Abraham was TRUSTING but GOD was controlling the TIMING.

Jentzen then said something to the effect, “We are a MICROWAVE people following a CROCKPOT GOD.”

Now I know that isn’t new.  But it still is profound.  

In fact I found another little blog about it that I posted on our FACEBOOK FREEDOM RECOVERY FEED on the 11^th of FEBRUARY if you want to dig a little deeper.

Charles Stanley says this about waiting…

God loves us and desires to meet the needs of our lives. He promises to answer our prayers, but not always according to our timing or method. Waiting on the Lord is a vital principle for every Christian. God, above all others, knows when the timing is right for His perfect plan to go into action. After all, He knows our lives from beginning to end, so He knows exactly where we are at this moment.

I will admit, I am not much of a “waiter”.  I have become a little more patient at 50 than what I was at 30, but I still wish from time to time that GOD would realize that I require quicker clarity or speedier suggestion.

But I know that is flawed thinking.

We all want GOD’s BEST for our lives and we have a GOD who is excited to give it to us.  We just need to remember it is always worth the wait.

…Waiting is not just something we have to do until we get what we want. Waiting is part of the process of becoming what God wants us to be. – John Ortberg

 

 

I love you all!

Freedom Church