There
I sat staring at the same old tree while rocking in the same old rocking chair
on the same old porch. We were visiting
my parents during the holidays when deja vu hit. How many times had I found myself sitting on
the porch from my childhood contemplating life, God, and my future? There were too many to count. I remember sitting there as a child, my
innocent self so naïve to this world hoping, dreaming, and waiting for what was
to come: the first boyfriend, first car, first job, high school graduation,
college, marriage, babies, and everything in between. I have done a lot of waiting from that
porch. I’ve also held a lot of pity
parties with my impatience hosting the shindig.
I knew what I wanted and I wanted it then. And more often than not, when my impatience
got the better of me, I took things into my own hands and tried to manipulate
the situation, doing anything to make my desires come to life sooner. This often led to pain and more
heartache.
So
there I found myself again, a little bit older, contemplating what was
next. The things that I had once hoped
for from that same seat I now found myself observing in real-time: my husband,
my three children, a nice home, stability.
And those things fill me with so much joy. But as I sat there, I couldn’t ignore this
deep ache for something else….something unknown. This time my impatience wasn’t manifested in
trying to make things happen, but in waiting for God to reveal to me what it
was that He wanted me to do.
That
was about 2 weeks ago and I still do not know what God is preparing me
for. I am finding that waiting for the
unknown is in some ways harder than waiting for the known. This desire within me is like an ember
waiting to be fanned to flame. In the mean time, I am determined to “wait
better” this time around. I will serve
God, my family, and my church to the best of my ability while I am
waiting. Joy can be found while
waiting. I want to be proof of
that.
I
have no idea why God hasn’t revealed, “what’s next”, but I’m putting my faith
in Him knowing that He is sovereign over all things including perfect
timing. Too many times I have lived life
less than full because I didn’t know how to wait patiently. And too many times, I have acted sinfully in
my impatience and I’ve suffered the consequences. Essentially, I can trace most of my impatience
back to one thing: a lack of faith in God’s sovereignty over my life. I know that I am not alone in this.
In
Genesis 12:1-2, the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred
and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I
will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.”
Later
on in Chapter 15 of Genesis, Abram asks, “O Lord God, what will you give me,
for I continue childless?” It was then that God made this covenant with Abram:
“Look toward heaven and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then He said, “So shall your offspring be.”
In
Chapter 16 we see that Sarai, Abram’s wife, was barren. In her frustration and
impatience, she offered up her servant Hagar to Abram so as to obtain children
through her. Hagar did indeed become
pregnant and gave birth to Ishmael.
In
Chapter 17, Abraham and Sarah, become pregnant and give birth to Isaac. Thus
God’s promise that “kings of peoples shall come from her” is set in motion.
After Isaac’s birth, Sarah sent Hagar and Ishmael away, but God promised to
make a great nation of Ishmael as well as Isaac, because he too was an
offspring of Abraham.
So
where am I going with all of this? Well,
to this very day, the consequence of Abraham and Sarah’s impatience can be felt
as the Islamic nation that was born from Ishmael wars against Israel for
territory that the Jewish people regard as their historical homeland.
The
story of Abraham and Sarah is a great reminder to me, and hopefully to you as
well that our sinful impatience will always take us further than we are willing
to go and the consequences can be far greater than we ever imagined. Through this story, we also see that the root
of patience is faith in God. Had Abraham
and Sarah’s faith in God’s promises been stronger, they would have had patience
to wait on Him to fulfill His promises, no matter how long it took.
What
can You do While You are Waiting
Most
of the time, when people are wondering about the will of God for their life,
they are really wondering about the will of God as it relates to their future
unfolding. However, the truth is while
we may not know the will of God in terms of what He will have us doing in the
future, the Bible does tell us the revealed will of God for our lives.
1.
God’s will for our lives is that we obey His
commands. Jesus said in John 14:15, “If you love Me, you will keep My
commandments.” That implies that you are
first learning the commandments of God through the study of His Word. And
secondly, you are striving to live out these commands in the power of the Holy
Spirit. The Apostle Paul reiterated this
command in Romans 12:2 as he wrote, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be
transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what
is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
2.
It is God’s will that we always be striving to grow
in commitment and holiness to God just as the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans
12:1, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present
your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your
spiritual worship. In 1 Thessalonians 4, the Apostle Paul wrote very plainly
these words, “For this is the will of God, your sanctification….”
3.
The revealed will of God is to always live out Proverbs
3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own
understanding, but in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths
straight. “
What
is it that you are waiting on right now?
Will you commit with me to wait patiently on God for the unknown and to
be faithful to the known? The prayer below is one that I have been praying for
myself the last few weeks:
Lord, I pray that you would teach me
to wait well. I pray that I will serve
you while I’m waiting. I pray that you would increase my faith because I know
that faith is the root of patience. Lord, I know that you are preparing me for
something. May I submit to your work
within me so that I am fully ready to do your will when you reveal it to
me. Amen.
Discussion Guide:
1.
As a group, share with each other, as you feel
comfortable, something that you are waiting for.
2.
What are you doing while you wait?
3.
Some wise things that you can do while waiting
patiently on the Lord are as follows:
a.Be faithful to the things that God has entrusted you with/the things that you should for sure be going.
(What are some things that you KNOW without a doubt that you should be
doing?)
b.Search your heart. Is their sin in your life that is clouding your vision and preventing you from discerning the will of God? (If someone is comfortable, please share with the group
how a particular sin in your past kept you from hearing from God.)
c.Serve God by serving others in the name of Jesus. (Why do you think that serving others helps you during a season of waiting? Hint: Proverbs 11:25)
d.Maintain your spiritual strength through prayer and reading God’s Word. Peace will fill your circumstances when you push through your feelings to stay close to God and allow His Word to
navigate you through your season of waiting. (What are some key verses that have helped you while you were waiting on God?”)
a.Be faithful to the things that God has entrusted you with/the things that you should for sure be going.
(What are some things that you KNOW without a doubt that you should be
doing?)
b.Search your heart. Is their sin in your life that is clouding your vision and preventing you from discerning the will of God? (If someone is comfortable, please share with the group
how a particular sin in your past kept you from hearing from God.)
c.Serve God by serving others in the name of Jesus. (Why do you think that serving others helps you during a season of waiting? Hint: Proverbs 11:25)
d.Maintain your spiritual strength through prayer and reading God’s Word. Peace will fill your circumstances when you push through your feelings to stay close to God and allow His Word to
navigate you through your season of waiting. (What are some key verses that have helped you while you were waiting on God?”)
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