The Lessons We Learn While Waiting

Waiting on the Lord to move in our circumstances is very difficult, but the Lord has many purposes in waiting on Him and HIs timing. Here are some reasons the Lord has us wait:

First, to prepare us for what is to come.

The Lord sometimes delays His blessing to prepare us for what is coming. Although He has spoken "Yes" to our request, we may not be full ready to receive what He has for us, so He needs to prepare our hearts and minds for what is in store. We need to remember that God's blessings are not just for us, but they are meant for a higher purpose and a greater glory. There are times when we are only thinking about ourselves and how the blessing will affect us, but the Lord desires that His blessing be something that brings Him greater glory and touches other's lives. We need to trust the Lord to prepare us for what He has and to surrender His blessings to Him to use how He sees fit.

Secondly, to give us clear direction. only when we are willing to wait.
There are times when the process to receiving our blessings is just that a process. There are many steps that we need to take in order to receive our blessing. The Lord may have us move in a certain direction that we were not expecting or He may wait for Him to open the door. Lord may tell us to wait because He needs to give us clear direction into the things that He has prepared for us. Waiting on the Lord allows Him to give us the clear direction and guidance that we need in order to take the steps that He has laid out before us.

Waiting on the Lord causes us to be still and quiet. When we are quiet, we can hear what the Lord is speaking to us. So times of waiting, the Lord can use to ensure that we hear Him clearly and confidently to take that next step.

Psalm 32:8 “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye” .

Third, waiting time causes us to walk in step with His timing.

We live in a fast pace world and are used to being able to get things quickly. From drive thru meals to banking, we want things to happen quickly and on our schedule. This may be the world's mentality, but it certainly is not Gods. We are God's children and He is Lord. He knows what is best for us and prepares every detail on what He has for us. It is His desire that our minds are transformed from thinking in selfish worldly sense to a higher God centered perspective.

The Lord wants us to know what He is preparing for us and the work He is doing in and around us. This requires time and waiting on His timing. The Lord wants us to be in step with His time and now to run ahead of Him, but to wait on HIs perfect time.

Fourth, waiting allows God to shape our character.

As humans, we become so preoccupied with the end result. We want to receive the blessings of God and we look at the finish line. The Lord has a different perspective. Although He does care and wants to bless us, He is just as concerned about the process of the journey to the blessing. While waiting on the Lord, we allow Him to work within our hearts and minds to teach us His ways and to know Him more intimately. We learn patience, endurance and perseverance. Our faith becomes strengthened and we learn to trust and lean on God in ways that we had not before. It is through the journey that the Lord sanctifies us and brings us one step closer to being in the image of Jesus.

Fifth, wait reveals our heart and our motives.

When we pray and ask the Lord for desires or needs, the waiting on His answer and fulfillment allow Him to sift through our motives. The Lord already knows our hearts and our desires, but waiting on Him allows Him to reveal them to us.

To us, our requests may seem benign, but there may motives or attitudes that are not in line with Him that he needs to reveal to us and purify us from while we wait. For example, we may be praying for the promotion at work. As we wait, the Lord may bring questions to our minds, like "Why do I really want that promotion? Do I want it to get more money or so others will be impressed?" When we wait on the Lord, we choosing to trust Him and allow Him to sift through our motives to reveal the truth. It is amazing what we learn about ourselves through this waiting period.

So the Lord uses waiting to:
1. Prepare us for what is to come.
2. To give us clear direction and guidance.
3. Walk in step with Him and His timing.
4. Shape our character to be more Christ-like.
5. Reveal our hearts and sift our motives.

Waiting is very foreign to us and does not come naturally. We often think of waiting as a waste of time or passive. We want to be active not passive. However, waiting is a powerful tool that the Lord uses to teaches us many things about ourselves and Himself and His ways. It can be very difficult things to wait because we must surrender to Him and His timing and trust that He knows what is best for us. If we choose to trust Him and wait on Him, He will not disappoint. God will amaze us with what He is doing while we wait on Him and watch Him work.