December 31 -- "Patiently Waiting"

 Today’s Reading: Psalms 26 & 40

"Patiently Waiting"

We often think of God being patient with us. But, are you patient with Him? With few exceptions, I believe that one of the most difficult things that we have to do in this life is to wait. For most of us, waiting is uncomfortable, or even frustrating. We live in a “right now” generation where we expect instant results. We barely tolerate waiting on God. We long for Him to answer our prayers, but often find ourselves waiting longer than we want. For many of us, it is easy to lose our patience. To be honest, sometimes waiting on the Lord can be like watching grass grow; when is it going to happen?

However, God has a greater purpose in our waiting. When we do it God’s way, there is great value in waiting on the Lord. God is truly desiring to work out patience in our lives. But what is our part in this?

The Lord wants us to wait PATIENTLY. Don’t rush the process. Rather, “Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” (James 1:4). There is a surrender that is involved in this, because we have to allow patience to have its proper place in our life, with the end result being that we will be brought to spiritual maturity. Waiting patiently helps us to grow.

The Lord wants us to wait EXPECTANTLY. “Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains” (James 5:7). Expect God to work! But remember, He doesn’t always work in the specific way we are looking for, and He often doesn’t work on our timeline. Trust His timeline as you wait expectantly for His blessing.

The Lord wants us to wait STEADFASTLY. “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58) There is a certain frame of heart, mind, and spirit that we should possess as we wait upon the Lord. We should remain resolute and firm. We should not allow anything to move us away from our expectation.

The Lord wants us to wait TRUSTINGLY. At times, we might feel unable to continue to wait patiently on God, but in fact, we have access to all the patience we need in Christ. We can trust the Spirit to give us the strength to bear our circumstances and enable us to use this time of waiting to grow in our intimacy with the Lord. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace… PATIENCE.” (Galatians 5:22) Trust the Holy Spirit to bring forth true patience in your soul as you wait upon Him.

“In His time.  In His time. He makes all things beautiful in His time.” (Linda Ball; Maranatha! Music) Wait patiently for Him and He will incline His ear to you and hear your cry… in His time.