Waiting on God

One day I was wondering what is it that we struggle with the most?  I thought of love, relationships, finances, jobs, and all that kind of stuff.  But which one of these do we struggle with the most?  I didn’t know.  Then the “light” went on.  We don’t struggle with any of these things.  The thing we really struggle with is waiting for love, waiting for that new job, waiting for a spouse to get saved.  Waiting is what we struggle with the most.

I was listening to the radio one night and this verse was the verse of the day.  It was the New Living Translation -  Hebrews 10:36 “Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised.”   The NKJV puts it this way “For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise.”

The words “patient endurance” is what got to me.  I want God’s will.  I think we all want God’s will.  But I don’t want to wait for it.  I want it right now.  This is where I get myself in trouble.  I tell God that I want to know what His will is for me.  Then, when He gives me indications of what that might be, I want Him to do it right now.  I am better off not knowing what His will is so that I am not focused on what is going to happen.  Instead, I am focused on what He is doing right now.

There is a worship song called “In the Middle” - which is about being in the middle of a miracle.  Every time we wait on God, we are in the middle of the miracle.  We are in the middle of what He is doing in our lives.  This song reminds me of that verse in Hebrews - patient endurance. 

Think of it this way.  When we go to get new brakes on our car we usually have to wait while the mechanic fixes it.  Let’s say the brake job goes long.  After we have waited for a while, do we give up and tell the mechanic to stop - that we don’t want to wait anymore and we take the car and drive off?  We don’t know how much of the brakes has been done - maybe it is only halfway done, yet we take it into our own hands and drive away.  Do we really want to do that?  It is the same way with God.  When we get tired of waiting on Him, do we take matters into our own hands and drive off - missing out on the best He had for us and possibly putting ourselves on a dangerous path?

Patiently enduring is the hardest thing that I have to do.  I can usually handle anything that is thrown at me - except to wait.  It’s not that I am impatient person - even though I am, but my way of thinking is this - if God has promised it to me, then just give it to me.  I fail to see the importance in waiting.  Why do we need to wait for months to get that perfect job or house or spouse?  We don’t have all the information but God does.

This verse has had an impact on me.  Now, when something comes up and I feel that I’ve waited long enough or maybe I just don’t want to wait - I think about this verse with “patient endurance”.  Can I patiently endure while God works out the details?  God has not let me down yet.  Even though I may never understand why I have had to endure certain trials, I have always come through those trials.  I have not perished nor have I been abandoned.  The trials have been hard and they have been painful, yet I am still here. God is faithful and He can be trusted to finish what He starts.

My encouragement to you is this - the next time it seems like God is taking forever to work out your particular situation, think about Hebrews 10:36 “Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised.”  It is in the Bible.  It is God’s Word and we can trust it.