WAITING ON THE LORD

One of the hardest things for me to do is wait.  I hate waiting in line, waiting for replys to my text messages, waiting for my husband when he is late getting home.  In short, I don't like to wait! :-)  

Yes, I have always had a hard time waiting for God to answer my prayers also.  You would think that after living 6 decades and experiencing many miracles that I would be able to remember that often God's answers take time.  My omnipotent Heavenly Father has a plan for my life and His timing is always perfect.  Often I have looked back to discover that God was working some amazing things in my life while I waited for answers.  I have come to understand that often answers are delayed for 2 reasons: I need to learn some lessons or God is working in someone else's life to use them as a vehicle to answer my prayer. 

In the Bible the book that tells the story of God's servant, Job, records his struggles as God allows Satan to tempt & test him.  Job goes through a period of questioning God while listening to the opinions of his wife & friends.  Because he is a Godly man who has walked with the Lord for years he comes to the right conclusion in chapter 23 verse 10. "But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold."

What can we learn from this verse?  God has a plan for our lives.  His plan does not always take us on the shortest, easiest route.  When we must go through periods of trials and waiting it is because our loving Heavenly Father is polishing us to make us more like Him. 

If our lives were always easy and everything went our way, we would be like a spoiled rotten toddler who is never disciplined and always gets his way.  I have known adults like that!  No one wants to be around them because they think the world revolves around them.  They are never truly happy because circumstances in a fallen world are not perfect.  Who wants to live like that?!

Learning to wait on God's perfect plan boils down to a simple matter of trust.  God often puts us in a place where we cannot fix the problem because He delights in showing us his power through miracles that we could never imagine or execute on our own.  Isaiah 45:2-3 says " I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight:  I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron: And I will give thee the teasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the Lord, which call thee by thy name am the God of Israel."

Throughout God's Word he promises great things if we will only wait on Him and allow him to do His perfect work in our lives and the lives of others around us.  Will you determine to trust Him with your life and your circumstances even if you have to wait for the perfect answer?