HURRY UP! and WAIT

Have you heard the expression, "Hurry up, and Wait"?  An example would be when we've rushed to be on time for an appointment, only to sit and wait to actually see the person we were scheduled to meet. Usually our level of frustration coincides with the length of time we are expected to wait! I don't usually mind waiting if I have a book to read or a Sudoku puzzle, otherwise, waiting is a challenge! 

It is no secret that we are an impatient people. We are so accustom to the fastest pace possible- fast food, fast transportation, high speed internet connections, immediate care medical facilities, microwave ovens, etc.  Many people feel that ANY wait time is wasted time. It's hard to imagine that wait time is designed by the Lord and is vital if our primary desire is to follow Him.

The Lord is faithful to hear and answer the prayers of His children.  His answers will be either YES, NO or WAIT.  As a believer, the Lord will put us in His divine "waiting room".  Rather than becoming impatient, the Holy Spirit will guide us to His Word for the instruction we need on how to wait on Him.  The Lord is aware that we do not like to wait, so, in His wisdom He gave us His Word to guide us. The Lord also knew we would need help in understanding the purpose in waiting on Him to answer our prayers. 


Isaiah 8:17a, "And I will wait upon the Lord..."

...FOR POWER FROM ON HIGH.

Luke 24:49, And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you; but tarry (wait) ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high."

Any promise from the Lord is worth waiting for.  

Would you like to have the power of the Lord in your life?  Wait for it! 

Lamentations 3:25,26 "The Lord is good unto them that wait for Him, to the soul that seeketh Him.  It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord."

The Lord's goodness is promised to those that not only place their hope in the Lord, 
but quietly wait for Him to do His will. 

...FOR INSTRUCTION TO PROCEED.

Psalm 25:5, "Lead me in Thy truth, and teach me; for Thou art the God of my salvation; on Thee do I wait all the day."

If we attempt to go ahead of the Lord we are in danger of promoting our own will before the will of the Lord.  
The Lord's timing is very different from ours.  

He knows all there is to know about everything from the beginning to the end.  

Trusting the Lord's timing will always place us in the center of His will.

The Lord speaks to us through prayer and reading His Word, therefore,
wait time is never idle time

...FOR DELIVERANCE FROM DIFFICULTIES

Proverbs 20:22, " Say not thou, I will recompense evil; but wait on the Lord, and He shall save thee."

Psalm 130:5-6, "I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in His word do I hope.  My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning; I say, more than they that watch for the morning."

Micah 7:7, "Therefore I will look unto the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me."

Because the Lord knows everything, He knows the difficulties and stresses that come into our lives from time to time.  To me, the hardest time in life is waiting and watching for the Lord to intervene in difficult times.  We want relief as quickly as possible.  It's hard to understand why we must wait for the answers when we have earnestly and sincerely prayed for deliverance.  It's in these times that our faith is tested and we need those prayer warriors in our lives to pray with us.  The one thing we can hold to is that the Lord loves us and cares more for us than anyone else.  We are never alone in our difficulty.  He will always see us through the pain and bring us to a brighter day.

...FOR BLESSINGS TO COME.

Isaiah 30:18, "And therefore will the Lord wait, that He may be gracious unto you, and therefore will He be exalted, that He may have mercy upon you; for the Lord is a God of judgment:  blessed are all they that wait for Him."

Hosea 12:6, "Therefore turn thou to thy God; keep mercy and judgment and wait on thy God continually."

I Thessalonians 1:10, "And to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come."

Waiting on the Lord is always rewarded.  
The assurance of every believer is that the God we serve is the God alone.  
It is in His power that we live and breathe and have our being (Acts 17:28).  
The Lord is our only source for true blessings, and those blessings are always worth the wait.

...for power from on high,
...for instruction to proceed,
...for deliverance from difficulties,
...and for His blessings to come.

My prayer is that the Lord will grant you His mercy and grace if you are in a "waiting room" for answers to your prayers.

`Blessings, Pamelyn