Are you waiting on the Lord?
Perhaps you’ve been praying feverishly amidst a troubling circumstance in your life, and so far God has remained silent. Maybe through a volley of tears with arms lifted high, you’ve asked in faith for God to provide physical healing, a new job; restoration to your marriage or financial provisions to see you through another day. Whatever your situation and whatever your prayers, still God remains silent. Have you ever been in this predicament?
Are you there right now?
Waiting on the Lord is sometimes easier said than done and can be agonizingly difficult when our prayers go unanswered. I know this because I’m waiting on the Lord. I’m waiting for God to heal my wife from a long suffering ailment so she can return to work. I’m waiting with anticipation for God to direct my path and set my feet on solid ground with meaningful employment after months of unemployment.
So what do we do when our Heavenly Father delays answers to our prayers? It’s simple. We pray more! And when you think He’s not heeding your call for help, its then you need to latch yourself to His Word. God’s promises are sure fire and bullet proof. His divine words can provide comfort and hope for a spirit filled with uncertainty and fear. Here is one such verse which assures us that God has our backs! “God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19 NIV)
Does that include relational conflicts, bills, health concerns or the need for employment? Yes! God knows what we need and He wants us to wait patiently for Him to answer our prayers, but He also wants us to wait expectantly and to have the faith to realize that He’s going to keep his word. “I wait expectantly, trusting God to help, for he has promised.” Psalm 130:5 (TLB)
Recently I was in a craft store with my wife, and as we meandered about, the words on a small cross-stitch project caught my eye. In that moment, I felt God’s presence in my circumstances, a subtle reminder of His faithfulness to bring about change and provide hope for the future. The craft showed a picture of a church nestled in a green country meadow covered in flowers. Above it read, “Everything is possible with God.” This verse is fromMatthew chapter 19, verse 26.
As my wife browsed, I pondered those five simple words and how they applied to my own life, especially because waiting on the Lord is difficult for an impatient person like me! I know that God loves me and that I’m saved by faith through grace because of Jesus’s death and resurrection; but have I really taken the time to consider that with God all things are possible? That He can and will see me through each and every plight I face as I learn to trust Him more?
Do you?
I’m trying, so please pray for me!
But what I also know is this. God is in control and I’m not. He sees the big picture and I don’t, and He will honor my patience and yours. Together we can be assured of these truths as we wait on the Lord. Keep praying and never lose hope that God is completely faithful, flawlessly trustworthy and voraciously in love with you! And as we wait upon the Lord together, let’s make this our directive…
“Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” (Psalm 27:14 NIV)
Paul Smyth