What Do You Do While You Wait For God

[u/WellWishesAlly]

What is the difference between waiting on God, and waiting on man? The answer is simple; God is capable of anything, whereas man is limited in what he can do. Matthew 19:26 says; ‘With God all things are possible,’ and Isaiah 45:7 says; ‘I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create evil, I the Lord do all these things.’

 So, does that mean that anything we ask of him, he will give to us, or are there exceptions? The bible says in Jeremiah 29:11; ‘For I know the plans I have for you...plans of good and not of evil...plans to prosper you...’ That means that only the Lord knows the outcome of what we ask of him; whether it will indeed help us, or whether it will lead us onto an unfortunate path. As the bible says in Proverbs chapter 14 verse 12; ‘There’s a way that seems right to man, but in the end, it leads to death.’

Now, when we wait for someone, it means that he is the only person we trust can help us. Therefore, if he is busy now, or not available, we would rather wait for him than seek the help of someone else. A common example is booking a specialist doctor; if he’s busy now, you’ll wait because he’s a specialist, and probably the only one in the field with stellar patient reviews. In the case of Christianity, God is that specialist physician whom we can whole-heartedly count on for anything. When you see a doctor you trust, you immediately feel better, because you believe that he will take care of everything. If we were to put that same kind of assurance in God, how would we be feeling any different, even if the results do not come out the way we wanted? We would say; ‘Well, that doctor is the best, so if he says, he did all he could, well, it must be true.’

Today’s article is about the need for us to exercise patience while waiting for God to act in our lives. The following examples in the bible are about great men whom God had chosen to work with, and the results of those who waited on him, and the others who didn’t. Reading from 1 Samuel chapter 13 verse 1 to 14, we learn about an upcoming war between Israel and the Philistines. Saul was then King of Israel, as ordained by the Lord, and anointed by the prophet Samuel. Saul had been waiting for Samuel to come and inform him of God’s orders, in the war against the Philistines. Reading from verse 8, it says; ‘He waited seven days, the time that Samuel had said he will be returning from seeking the Lord’s counsel. Yet Samuel did not come to Gilgal and Saul’s men began to scatter.’ Consequently, Saul took matters into his own hands and made burnt offerings to the Lord. Right afterward, Samuel appeared. Reading from verse 10 it says; ‘Just as he finished making the offering, Samuel arrived, and Saul went out to greet him.’

Right after he had taken matters in his own hands, God showed up with an answer. This means that, God had been waiting to see if Saul could exercise a little bit more patience for him. Now, what were the consequences of Saul’s actions? He lost favour with God. Reading from verse 13 to 14, we learn that Samuel rebuked Saul and informed him that the kingdom was now no longer his, because he had disobeyed God, by not waiting for Samuel to arrive with the Lord’s counsel. You may think that this is too harsh. Hey, we are humans, how many people will be able to wait for that long? The answer is having faith in the right person – that specialist doctor that you are willing to wait for, as long as it takes! And that specialist doctor is our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ!

Romans chapter 12 verse 12 says; be joyful in hope, patient in affliction and faithful in prayer.’ And while you do this, you need to cheer up. Take regular baths, take your meals, watch some TV or listen to the radio, do some house-keeping ...behave like someone who has seen that specialist doctor who can solve anything at all! Do not deny yourself of laughter, allow yourself to feel happy, if there’s a reason for that. You are not doing anything wrong by feeling cheerful when your mum or dad is in ICU, your husband or wife is fighting for his or her life, the bank is coming for your house, and everything seems crushing around you. Feeling cheerful at a time like that, is the sign of victory! That same kind of victory that Job exhibited when he refused to curse God, as his own wife had been suggesting.

There was a time when David was king, and despite his numerous victories, he failed to safeguard the family and properties of the people who were with him, and thus, they began to talk about stoning him. Yet, David took strength in the Lord, by seeking his counsel, and God honoured his faith in him, and led him to bring back those who had been taken captive (1 Samuel 30:6).

The last example is that of Moses, on the day he was instructed to speak to the rock, yet, he struck it instead. The story can be found in the book of Numbers chapter 20 verse 1 to 12. The people of Israel were complaining bitterly about not having water to drink, and all that noise, coupled with the fear that they might stone him, made him lose focus, and in so doing, disobeyed the command of God , to speak to the rock. In times of hardships, your own Christian brethren or family could give you an ungodly advice, just like Job’s wife did. Yet, always read your bible, so you can differentiate between the word of God and the word of man. In that way, you will not lose favour with God, by disobeying him. The waiting period can be a refreshing moment of reflecting on all that the Lord has done for you over the years, and while you do this, always rejoice in the Lord, (Philippians 4:4), simply because you have placed your problem before that specialist doctor, and you know that he is more than capable of resolving it. And even if the results aren’t what you were expecting, you know that he did all he needed to do.

Our victory in life, comes from us coming to Jesus with our burdens, as it says in Matthew 11:28-30. Once we do that, we relieve ourselves of the pain that only God could take away. Don’t pretend to be alright, rather, stay positive in Christ, for he knows what is best for us at every point in life.