WAITING - A SECOND LOOK

I want to take a second look at the subject of waiting. If I bored you with the last one, then I apologize in advance for this article.

Just as I was finishing the last article, Carol, our daughter Barb, and I flew to Phoenix for a wedding where one of my nieces was getting married at Phoenix First Assembly of God. Over the years I have been to Phoenix First for meetings at least a dozen times, so I didn’t bother to ask for directions from the hotel to the church, I just operated on memory. The greater Phoenix/Scottsdale area has changed and grown since I was last there about ten years ago and so I got us lost. I was mildly irritated and embarrassed, to say the least. We got to the church about fifteen minutes late and then I was really embarrassed to find out that the wedding had been held up because of us. None of us were in the wedding party but the family wanted us to be there and share in the celebration. We had kept the wedding waiting! As my daughter Leslie would say, “We took the walk of shame” to our seats.

I don’t like being late for anything just as I don’t like it when people are late and inconvenience others. I think it’s rude to keep people waiting. Call me old-fashioned if you wish, but I think it’s very poor taste to keep others waiting unnecessarily. I would rather be twenty minutes early for a meeting than five minutes late.

“But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31).

Again I ask the question, “Why does God say that they that wait are going to reap benefits?”

When I messed up in Phoenix, I was forced to face the fact that I was the reason we were late. It was my arrogance/pride that caused us to get lost. I had to face my own humanity and admit that I was to blame. Could it be possible that one of the reasons God puts us through the waiting process is to assist us in admitting that often we are in the way of His doing His work through us and blessing us in the process? Could it be that He is waiting for us to deal with our pride and humanity before He allows the blessing to flow?

“God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (1 Peter 5:5).

The word “resists” used here has a strong meaning; it means that God sets Himself, as in battle, against pride. God resists the proud and blesses/exalts the humble. Humility is getting ourselves, our ego, under control and putting God first in every situation. Humility is not inherited, it is an acquired trait which we are to put on like we do a piece of clothing. We will work at humility our entire life.

A piece of advice here: Don’t pray for humility! If you do, He will answer your prayer and you won’t like what happens!

“Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time” (1 Peter 5:6).

To wait for the fullness that God has promised is not only to get our pride in check, to repent of sin, but also to make ourselves fully available to God and His purposes for our life journey. It is our obedient submission to His purpose and timetable.

God won’t be hurried by you or me or anybody else. His timetable is controlled only by Him. He and He alone knows when we are ready to proceed and the timing is right, and then and only then will He release us into the fullness of what He has prepared for us.

Isaiah 40:31 is about waiting, but it’s also about renewal, about regaining spiritual life that has been dissipated or lost. “They that wait shall renew their strength.”

God’s idea of waiting on Him is not to settle into a big chair with a good book and do nothing. That’s not waiting—that’s taking a vacation. In Scripture waiting is defined as eagerly anticipating what God has in store and fully intertwining yourself with God’s work in your life.

Waiting upon the Lord defines the attitude of a hungry heart toward the Lord. It speaks of:
1. A listening ear
2. A heart that is responsive to God’s word
3. A focus of the heart and mind that puts God first in all things
4. The patience of faith

“The LORD is good to those who wait for Him” (Lamentations 3:25).

Don’t waste your waiting!