Why it is Good to Wait on God
Today, we are living in the information age where things can be accomplished with a few clicks and a search on our browser. We can learn a new skill, buy a new pair of shoes, find an old friend, or be a person of influence with just a single post.
But let’s take stock. The world wasn't created in a minute. God took His time to set things in place (Genesis 1-2);
the birth of a baby happens after nine months in the mother’s womb; a seed takes seasons before it grows and bears fruit. Even the salvation of humankind is taking time to be fulfilled according to God’s plan from the Old Testament up to the New Testament.
Beautiful things do take time to unfold. This includes getting to where we want to go in life...and where God wants us to be.
You may be at the point when you are wondering why you have not landed your dream job yet after long months of seeking, or maybe wondering why you have not received yet that promotion you deserve. Or you could be wondering why the "love of your life" has not arrived and you may have thought to yourself, "Hey, God wants the best for me, but why have I been waiting too long?"
Here are a few helpful revelations to help answer those "Whys" in a season of waiting...
1. Character Development
God wants to build our character as we journey in life. Even as we go through the toughest of times, we can trust that God is smoothening out our rough edges so that we can come into a realization that our life is not just all about us. God wants to work in us and through us. Proverbs 16:9 says, “In their hearts, humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.”
The Israelites traveled forty years in the wilderness to the promised land after they have been freed from being captives of Egypt, when it should have only taken them eleven days. Why? Because God gave them the commandments and all the things they needed, but they refused God’s way. They only saw the problems and complained along the way rather than holding on to the promise that God had given them. Because of their hard-headedness, it took them all of forty years to reach the promised land, and this was only until they learned to trust and to be patient, to submit, and to surrender their false idols.
2. Spiritual Growth
When things take time and are too difficult to handle, when things go beyond our limitations and skill, and when things do not go as planned, this is when we learn to call unto God and cling to Him for His help. Our faith is strengthened while we wait. Our hope in God is edified. We learn to praise and worship the Lord as we begin to appreciate more of His presence in our lives.
It is in these kinds of challenges that we realize our successes, small or big, would not have been possible without God.
As it is written in Lamentations 3:25-26: “The Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him, to the one who seeks Him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.”
When King David was anointed by God to sit on the throne to rule over Israel after King Saul, his life was actually endangered (see I Samuel 19). King Saul made a plan to kill David, but thankfully he never succeeded. David was a shepherd boy who killed a bear and a lion, a boy who had slain Goliath the Giant through a sling by his faith in the God Almighty (see I Samuel 17). All this happened to David before he became a king. God developed him spiritually into someone who looked to God as the ultimate authority.
3. God Is Always on Time
God's delay is still the perfect timing for you and me. He may be slow, but He is never late. He prepares the way for us who trust His wisdom and depend on His love. His ways are beyond our capacity to understand. In these times of waiting, though painful, it is when we get stronger and wiser, ready to face and enjoy the fullness of what God has for us..
When in doubt, remember these verses and be encouraged:
Ecclesiastes 3:11: “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart, yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”
Isaiah 40:31: “But those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”
Learn more about our powerful and loving God. Discover the wonders of having a personal relationship with His Son, Jesus Christ. Everyone is welcome to join any of our three worship services at Union Church of Manila, an international Christian church in Makati. Visit www.unionchurch.ph to read more about UCM.
But let’s take stock. The world wasn't created in a minute. God took His time to set things in place (Genesis 1-2);
the birth of a baby happens after nine months in the mother’s womb; a seed takes seasons before it grows and bears fruit. Even the salvation of humankind is taking time to be fulfilled according to God’s plan from the Old Testament up to the New Testament.
Beautiful things do take time to unfold. This includes getting to where we want to go in life...and where God wants us to be.
You may be at the point when you are wondering why you have not landed your dream job yet after long months of seeking, or maybe wondering why you have not received yet that promotion you deserve. Or you could be wondering why the "love of your life" has not arrived and you may have thought to yourself, "Hey, God wants the best for me, but why have I been waiting too long?"
Here are a few helpful revelations to help answer those "Whys" in a season of waiting...
1. Character Development
God wants to build our character as we journey in life. Even as we go through the toughest of times, we can trust that God is smoothening out our rough edges so that we can come into a realization that our life is not just all about us. God wants to work in us and through us. Proverbs 16:9 says, “In their hearts, humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.”
The Israelites traveled forty years in the wilderness to the promised land after they have been freed from being captives of Egypt, when it should have only taken them eleven days. Why? Because God gave them the commandments and all the things they needed, but they refused God’s way. They only saw the problems and complained along the way rather than holding on to the promise that God had given them. Because of their hard-headedness, it took them all of forty years to reach the promised land, and this was only until they learned to trust and to be patient, to submit, and to surrender their false idols.
2. Spiritual Growth
When things take time and are too difficult to handle, when things go beyond our limitations and skill, and when things do not go as planned, this is when we learn to call unto God and cling to Him for His help. Our faith is strengthened while we wait. Our hope in God is edified. We learn to praise and worship the Lord as we begin to appreciate more of His presence in our lives.
It is in these kinds of challenges that we realize our successes, small or big, would not have been possible without God.
As it is written in Lamentations 3:25-26: “The Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him, to the one who seeks Him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.”
When King David was anointed by God to sit on the throne to rule over Israel after King Saul, his life was actually endangered (see I Samuel 19). King Saul made a plan to kill David, but thankfully he never succeeded. David was a shepherd boy who killed a bear and a lion, a boy who had slain Goliath the Giant through a sling by his faith in the God Almighty (see I Samuel 17). All this happened to David before he became a king. God developed him spiritually into someone who looked to God as the ultimate authority.
3. God Is Always on Time
God's delay is still the perfect timing for you and me. He may be slow, but He is never late. He prepares the way for us who trust His wisdom and depend on His love. His ways are beyond our capacity to understand. In these times of waiting, though painful, it is when we get stronger and wiser, ready to face and enjoy the fullness of what God has for us..
When in doubt, remember these verses and be encouraged:
Ecclesiastes 3:11: “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart, yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”
Isaiah 40:31: “But those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”
Learn more about our powerful and loving God. Discover the wonders of having a personal relationship with His Son, Jesus Christ. Everyone is welcome to join any of our three worship services at Union Church of Manila, an international Christian church in Makati. Visit www.unionchurch.ph to read more about UCM.