Waiting on the Lord

One thing that I have learnt about myself in recent years is how impatient I am! Is it because I am a millennial? Is it because we live in an era where you can have anything sold on Amazon delivered to your house within hours? Is it because we can find out the answer to a question in less than a second? Probably!

 We live in a world where we never have to wait for anything.

 Recently I have found myself in a period of waiting. For someone who is so impatient, I have been finding this quite a challenge.

 So I have been asking myself this question; What is God trying to teach me in the waiting?

 Are you waiting for something at the moment? Are you too wondering what God is trying to teach or remind you during this time? Do you feel abandoned in the waiting?

 One area that I identified at the start is my inability to be patient. I have felt prompted to be patient in the waiting moments. This sounds so obvious! The reminder to be patient whilst waiting has also been a poignant reminder that things happen in God’s timing, despite my own impatience and wanting to hurry things along!

 My favourite Psalm, Psalm 27: “The Lord is my Light and My Salvation” ends with the line in verse 14: “Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord”.  In recent weeks I have needed to hear those words, “wait for the Lord”. It has helped me to think carefully about how I am not in control and I need to hand things over to God.

 Let us also consider one of the characters from the Bible, Moses. It is quite unimaginable that Moses spent 40 years in the wilderness. 40 years! Moses relied heavily upon God during this significant length of time and the period was not without its trials. Although it may be unlikely that we are waiting for as long a period of 40 years, we can learn through Moses’ example that we can lean into God for support and strength whilst waiting.

Whilst thinking about waiting, God’s timing is such a wonderful thing to consider. Take a moment to think about things that have happened in your own life, can you see God’s timing at play? Whenever I have really sought God and been going through a difficult time or situation, when I look back weeks, months or years later it is hard to deny how God’s timing and power has been at play within those situations.  

Can I encourage you to think this month about times where you have been waiting on God’s timing, perhaps this is happening currently or in the past. Spend time reflecting on what God taught you during this period of waiting?

Sometimes we may feel that things are not moving and that we are sat still in these periods of waiting. God knows our hearts and will provide in His timing always.