Today I want to slow us down just a Little bit, so that we can think about waiting! Isaiah 40:31 says: “But those that wait upon the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint!” We love the last part of the verse that talks about being renewed, soaring, running and walking! But we usually skip right over the first part – the part that gives us the pre-condition for renewal, soaring, running and walking! It says “those that wait on the Lord”!
Waiting Is Hard To Do! And while waiting is hard, we do have a choice! Not everyone will make the choice to wait, in fact – most do not wait and even when we do decide to wait is is usually not long enough! Why is it so hard for us to wait? Could it be because we want results right now? We live in a microwave/drive through society – which wants what it wants and wants it now! I think another thing that gets in the way of our waiting is: We think that we have to make something happen! The truth is: There are some things that no matter how bad you want them to happen, you cannot make them happen! I think another problem is we worry about what other people will say or think! The opinion that we need to be concerned with is God’s opinion – not what someone else thinks or says is God’s opinion!
The bottom line is this: WAITING IS GOD’S PREREQUISITE FOR BLESSING! The verse says: “Those who WAIT on the LORD will…” Waiting has it’s reward! I am not talking about waiting for waiting sake, but waiting to hear, see and be moved by God!
Take a step back from the situation! Put your hands behind your back and focus on what God might be up to! You might just be amazed at how God can take whatever and use it for amazing things in and through your life!
Michael Joe Harvell 
Great thoughts and I have claimed that verse a lot because I tend to project 10 steps past the clear direction I receive from God. My question is this: when do you wait and when do you step out in faith? I think we (definitely I) can use that verse for inaction.
Thoughts?
Thanks for the comment! I think one of the main purposes of waiting on God is so that we can hear from Him! So many times in my life I jump to fix whatever needs to be fixed without even seeking to listen and hear what God has to say about it! (I fix it because that is what I as a man do – I fix! arrghhhaaaa!) It’s like when I was putting together some toys for Christmas – I hate the directions, but when I fail to follow them, I have parts left over that I am just not sure what to do with! Our waiting is not about inaction, but making sure that we are hearing from our Creator – so that we take the right action! The simple but compex answer is WHEN GOD TELLS YOU! Which will lead to “How Do You Know When It’s God?” Which is something that we all have to learn as we wait on and with Him!
ok Michael Joe. I am going to be completely honest.
I REALLY DON”T LIKE THIS VERSE. Obviously I am not doing something right because I am weary. I have pleaded with God to take this feeling away, if only for a little while. I want to enjoy the families around me, but in the middle of celebrating with them, I feel desolate. I am trying. Really I am. Every single female in my SS class is pregnant or has an infant. Is this some kind of sick joke? I am waiting. Being as patient as I know how. I am not running to medical intervention, I am praying for God to use this for his glory, I am setting out to do other things, (ex: getting debt free), but it is always there. I sometimes feel like it is suppose to be there…but it hurts. If it is not in God’s plan for me to be a mother, then why has it hurt for years. I am sick of crying. I am willing to wait ten thousand years for my family if that is what I have to do. But this pain has to lessen up.
Good message, Mike! The truth is that waiting on God’s timing is hard but you need to understand that your prayer was heard and that most importantly, the wait is part of the answer! The wait is never for nothing! There is always a divine, deliberate reason for God to hold off giving you want you want, when you want it. When you get a full grasp that the timing figures in on God giving you even more than you ask, then you can stand in his peace knowing that your situation is always in his hand!
Bless all that need to know that.
http://www.mlordi.wordpress.com
http://www.time2standladies.wordpress.com
I have been trying to fix a certain relationship in my life for the past three years with zero success. I have been looking for the cracked distributor or worn spark plug wire to make things run smooth again. Today God led to MJ’s site so I could read this particular post. As hard as it is going to be to stop trying to fix things I am going to listen more and pray more for answers. God has been really working on my heart since late summer. I have failed to realize that my relationship with God needs to right and pure before my other relationships will be the way I would like. Pray for me that I will wait on the Lord and accept his guidance and direction.