There is nothing as painful as waiting on the Lord desperately and anxiously, then He says it’s not time for you to receive the answer…
Waiting for a bus is easy – you stand at the bus stop until the next one comes along. Waiting on a queue is also not too bad – you just need to wait for your turn. Waiting on the Lord, on the other hand, is no walk in the park.
This year I have waited. And waited. And waited.
I have also learnt about waiting on God and thriving during the wait. Let me share some snippets below.
Learn to trust Him
When the sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and the grass is nice and green it is easy to trust in the Lord, right? Do you feel the same during the dark, cloudy storm, or when you are forced to climb up a steep path with no end in sight? With all honesty, I struggle to trust in the Lord when things are thick.
After all the years I have been in the faith, it is hard to believe that I am still learning to trust Him. I guess I always thought that I would get to a point where I would not have to struggle to trust Him. Trusting God, however, is a continuous learning process, because every time He grants me a victory, a new challenge comes along!
How, then, should we learn to trust Him afresh? Simple – we go back to the basics. We need to remember that He is in control of everything, and whatever He has planned for our lives is best for us. Also, just because He says it’s not time doesn’t mean that He has said no – He probably wants you and I to wait a little longer as we strengthen our relationship with Him.
Remember what He has done in the past
Psalm 103:2 “Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me.” (NLT)
If you are anything like me, you have a pretty short memory when it comes to the things the Lord has done for you! We often forget to think about the little miracles that He sends our way, miracles that build our faith.
Let me share one little miracle that God sent me a couple of weeks ago. I needed to practise some music for a presentation, but I had no access to an instrument, as my keyboard had died unexpectedly some time in January. As I looked at my calendar, I realized that the only way I was going to practise was if I hired a keyboard. At that point, I prayed and asked the Lord to perform a miracle and revive my keyboard. That was on a Friday.
The next Monday, the kids were home, and one of them decided to see if the keyboard would work. Guess what – it did!!! When I got home and received the good news (as I dashed to dig out my music), I was totally in awe of God’s goodness.
God sent me this little miracle to remind me that He still cared about me, even if He was yet to answer my ‘huge’ prayer requests. Similarly, if we look around hard enough, there are things that He has done for us in the past that we can use to encourage ourselves to keep trusting in Him. The Israelites were reminded continually not to forget what the Lord did for them in the wilderness. We should do the same.
Surrender to His will
What does every little child do when they are told to wait for something? Stamp their feet, sulk, scream, throw a tantrum, name it! Given the chance, we would do the same when God tells us to wait for something we desperately need!
Jesus knew what kind of death lay ahead of Him. He knew that He would not only lose His life in the most painful way, but He would also be separated from His Father! In a moment of desperation, Jesus asks the Lord once more if the cup of suffering can be taken away from Him.
Luke 22:42 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” (NIV)
Jesus, however, did something that not many of us remember to do – He surrendered to God’s will, even if it meant that He would die.
And we, too, must surrender to the Lord’s will for our lives, even if it means not receiving the things that we so desperately long for.
From experience, though, I can tell you that it is not easy to surrender to the Lord when He denies or delays something you really want. Letting Him take control of everything, however, is the essence of surrender in this case. As hard as it is to do, we must all learn to let God be God, and let Him decide how and when to answer our prayers. Most importantly, as we wait for the answer, we need to focus on the Giver, not the gift.
Surrendering to the Lord as we wait on Him demonstrates that we trust in His perfect will for our lives and that we are ready to let Him take complete control of everything that concerns us. This action alone frees the Lord to work out His plans for us at the perfect time.
So, friends, the next time the Lord says to you that it’s not yet time for your prayers to be answered, don’t fret. Instead, trust in Him and surrender to Him as you remind yourself of the great and glorious things He has done for you in the past!
Psalm 40:1 “I waited patiently for the Lord; And He inclined to me, And heard my cry.” (NKJV)
Hi, everyone! I hope that you are encouraged to wait patiently on the Lord, even when He says that it’s not time to answer you. Please share this article with anyone who you think may need to be encouraged. Have a great week ahead!
I agree with you Alison patience is not easy when one has a problem but we must always remember that God’s timing is not limited to our demands. Let us all remember He alone has the answers to our needs. God bless you.