Hope #11- Waiting on the Lord

Thank you Charles:

God Acts on behalf of those who wait for Him.

We are so impatient! God is a God of action! He operates with a sense of purpose. He has a plan for your life. He is personally involved in our lives.
How?

*He reveals His will.
*He gives us clear direction when we need it.
*He guides us to make wise choices.
*He encourages us.
*He protects us.
*He shields us from circumstances we're not even aware of.
*He heals us.
*He comforts us.
*He teaches us.
*He answers our prayers.
*He empowers us.
*He rejoices our hearts (ex.music)

He is looking for what's best in your life. We don't always understand that. He is working in our lives. He has the power to say, "not now". He has the best in mind if we just wait. We must learn to wait for his timing and direction.

(Reminds me of being a parent when our children want things right now. What they want right now, may not be what's best for them at the time.)

People move on when they don't get an answer from God. We can't handle nearly as much as we think we can.

What does waiting on the Lord mean?
It means being patient.
Patience is the will to wait. It also means to pause for further instruction.
Will he always tell me why I'm waiting? No. Waiting is not doing nothing. It's waiting for God to do something and have a calm exceptance. Trust Him and wait for Him to intervene. He hasn't forgotten our requests.

Waiting is important.
We need to learn to let go of what we think is an immediate need. That "need it right now" mentality can be devastating! Having patience means to be willing to wait upon God and remove all deadlines. Waiting on the Lord is one of God's most valuable principles.

Psalm 27:14 "Wait for the Lord; Be strong and let your heart take courage; yes, wait for the Lord."
What does having strength and courage mean? It means knowing that you can face the temptation that God has for you later. There is character is a person willing to wait for God's best in their life.

When you're waiting for God's timing, you're waiting for His very best.

Psalm 37:34- Living Bible-
"Don't be impatient for the Lord to act! Keep traveling steadily along his pathway and in due season He will honor you with every blessing."

If I'm wise, I will wait for His timing and His direction.

Why do I have to wait? Why doesn't he give it to me right now?
1. He's getting the circumstances ready. Sometimes we think we're ready, but we're not. I wonder how many times God would give you what you're asking for if you would just wait for His timing.

2. He's purifying our motives. Do we want this thing out of lust, greed or retaliation?

3. He's teaching us to trust Him. If we got everything we wanted right now, we wouldn't need to trust Him. Not waiting says, "I don't trust God".

4. He's protecting us. He sees every aspect of our lives.

5. We send an awesome testimony.

We all have choices:
1. We can manipulate the circumstances. (we lose God's best)

2. We can quit and walk away from God.

3. We can wait and watch Him work and gain the reward.

What are the requirements?
1. Faith- trust Him
2. Be patient- willing to wait.
3. Have humility (waiting no matter how long it takes. He won't ignore that dedication)
4. Courage to stand still and wait for God to work even when we don't see Him working.

We must resist the temptation not to do it our way.
Resist the pressure of other people.
Resist fear of failure.

The consequences of not waiting:
Disappointment. There is always disappointment if we step ahead of the will of God. When you step out of His will, you lose his very best and get second best. You bring upon yourself..pressure, hurt, and suffering and other people get hurt.

He is in it with us and acts on behalf of those who wait.

Our willingness to wait reveals the value we place on the object we're waiting for.

Does this mean we will get everthing we want? No. He will change our desires and move us to what He desires FOR me. So it will now be what I really want versus what I thought I wanted.

Some people might say, well I've really messed up. Can I start over? I've spent my whole life stepping ahead of God's will for my life.

There's God's ultimate will and God's circumstantial will for our lives. If we're living God's circumstantial will for our lives, He will forgive us and set us in a new direction, where He wants us to go NOW.