DIGGING DEEP NO. 889 – June 29, 2021 WAITING ON GOD Col.3: 15- 17

Learning to wait on the Lord is not only difficult, but with the waiting can come pain, heartache, hopelessness, and worry. In some cases, we begin to focus on something other than Jesus. God is at work in our waiting. We might not see any changes in these times of waiting, particularly through times of difficulty and periods of personal growth, but there is a plan and purpose in all of it. Are you frustrated, crying out, “When, God, when?” Then you need to understand that God’s timing is often a mystery. He doesn’t do things on our timetable. Yet His Word promises that He will not be late, not one single day. But these things I plan won’t happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, do not despair, for these things will surely come to pass. Just be patient! They will not be overdue a single day! (Habakkuk 2:3).

Wait with Patience (Genesis 16:1 -16) – Many people want change, but they don’t want to go through the waiting process. But the truth is, waiting is a given—we are going to wait. The question is, are we going to wait the wrong or right way? If we wait the wrong way, we’ll be miserable; but if we decide to wait God’s way, we can become patient and enjoy the wait. Patience is mostlydeveloped only under trial, so we must not run from difficult situations. But let endurance and steadfastness and patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that you may be perfectly and fully developed, lacking in nothing (James 1:4). Timing and trust work side by side.

Accept God’s Timing (John 11:1-2&17, John 2:1-9, Exodus 13:17-18) – God gives us hopes and dreams for certain things to happen in our lives, but He doesn’t always allow us to see the exact timing of His plan. Although frustrating, not knowing the exact timing is often what keeps us in the program. There are times when we might give up if we knew how long it was going to take, but when we accept God’s timing, we can learn to live in hope and enjoy our lives while God is working on our problems. We know that God’s plan for our lives is good, and when we entrust ourselves to Him, we can experience total peace and happiness.

Learn to Rely on God (Proverbs 16:9, Proverbs 3:5-6) – Proverbs 20:24 says, Man’s steps are ordered by the Lord. How then can a man understand his way? When God directs our paths, He sometimes leads us in ways that don’t make sense to us so we’re not always going to understand everything. If we try to reason out everything, we will experience struggle, confusion, and misery. Proverbs 3:5-6 sounds so simple, yet too many people make the mistake of trying to figure everything out themselves. Most of us have spent our lives trying to take care of ourselves, but when we accept Christ as our Savior, we must learn to trust our lives to His care.

Waiting Transforms Our Character (Exodus 2:12-14, Exodus 3:4) – Waiting has a way of rubbing off the rough edges of our lives. God also uses the time of waiting to transform our character. Moses as a young man, he knew he was supposed to deliver the Israelites. He had the promise, but he didn’t have the patience. He got in a hurry and killed a man who was mistreating a Hebrew slave. His heart was right, but because he was out of God’s timing, he had to flee for his life and spent forty years waiting in the desert.

Waiting Builds Intimacy and Dependency Upon God – Great men and women of the Bible have one thing in common, they were all people who learned their success in life was directly proportionate to their intimacy and dependency upon God. Some of the most intimate relationships we have in our lives are because a friend stood in the trenches with us during the heat of the battle. The reason we get to read the stories of these great men and women is because they went through the difficulties of life with God. In the end, they enjoyed the process with God and the promise of God. God is just as interested in the journey as He is the destination. If not, all the biblical accounts would only include the feel-good parts and not the good, the bad and the ugly of the times of waiting. We may not always understand why we have to wait, but the good news is that God never asks us to wait without Him.

When you wait on God you won’t be disappointed (James 1:12, Isaiah 49:23, Psalm 25:3) – The story of Job demonstrates this truth. The Devil schemed to destroy Job’s faith by hurling all kinds of trials at him, including the ordeal of Job’s wife suggesting that he curse God and die (Job 2:9). But ultimately God vindicated Job. He rebuked Job’s so-called friends for judging him, and he called Job “his servant” and blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning.

Waiting to Harvest Period (Ecclesiastes 3:1) – We should never be jealous of someone who is enjoying harvest while you’re still in the waiting season. Remember, they had to go through a season of waiting just as you are. Seeing the results, they are enjoying should be an encouragement to you. Understand and trust that God is doing the very best for you in your present season. During our waiting period, we feel like nothing is happening, but all kinds of things are happening inside where we can’t see. When harvest time comes, the desires of your heart begin to manifest—bondages fall off of you and you see your dreams come to pass. You see your kids changing and your family getting saved. Prosperity, favor, promotion, honor, and all kinds of good things come out in the open where they can be seen. In harvest time, more than ever before, you hear from God, you enjoy His presence, and you’re led by the Spirit. Blessings begin to chase you down the street, and joy and calm delight become your normal mood.

Conclusion – God causes things to happen at exactly the right time! Your job is not to figure out when, but to make up your mind that you won’t give up until you cross the finish line and are living in the radical, outrageous blessings of God! The more you trust Jesus and keep your eyes focused on Him, the more life you’ll have. Trusting God brings life. Believing brings rest. Stop trying to figure everything out, and let God be God in your life.