Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Hurry Up and Wait



As I’ve posted before patience is not one of my strong personality characteristics. As a matter of fact, my niece just asked me if I’d like to learn to crochet and my immediate response was, “I’m too impatient.” The Lord is constantly putting stumbling blocks in my path to teach me patience. I’m either a very slow learner or just plain stubborn. I have an idea it’s more of the later, just plain ‘ole stubbornness! No matter what, I always pick the slowest lane at the store. I catch all the red lights while driving. Arrive at my appointments at least fifteen minutes early only to have to wait in the waiting room for at least thirty minutes until my turn. I have definitely been working on using the “wait” time constructively instead of getting perturbed. A couple of my very dearest relatives are in “wait” mode. I know both of them are trying to be patient, but it’s hard. I thought I’d check out God’s Word to see what I could find about waiting.

I first thought about Job and all the trials he had to endure. Talk about waiting! You know the old saying, “The patience of Job.” I often pray for that patience. Job’s prayer was “All the days of my struggle I will wait; Until my change comes.” Job 14:14 (NASU) Most Biblical scholars believe Job was about the age of 70 when his afflictions began. At the end of the book of Job it states that Job lived 140 years after he was blessed twofold. That means he suffered many years. Do you think you would have the patience to “wait” on the Lord as Job did? I’m not sure I would.

Next I turned to the book of Psalms. There are several references to “wait.” David had been chosen as the next king, but King Saul wasn’t ready to give up his rein. David had to wait, all the while being persecuted by Saul and his men. David wrote most of these scriptures during this time. We can feel his despondence, but his determination to wait. Ps 27:14 Wait on the LORD; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD! (NKJV) Ps 33:20 We wait in hope for the LORD; He is our help and our shield. (NIV) Ps 37:7 Be still and rest in the Lord; wait for Him and patiently lean yourself upon Him; (AMP) Ps 130:5-6 That is why I wait expectantly, trusting God to help, for he has promised. (TLB)


If you find yourself in a “waiting” season of life stand firm on God’s promise that he has a plan for you, he has not deserted you. I challenge you to memorize some of the scriptures in this post or write them out on cards or sticky notes to keep them fresh in your mind. As we all deal with patience and waiting on the Lord may we find comfort in Isa 30:18 "For the Lord is faithful to his promises. Blessed are all those who wait for him to help them." (TLB) Be blessed while you wait.

2 comments:

eph2810 said...

I agree - waiting sometimes is such a hard thing to do. But as I get older, I know that He always has a plan for us...so I wait on Him. I used to run in front of Him, that was not good either.

Thank you so sharing your wisdom with us.

Blessings to you and yours...

Mom Of Many said...

Hi,
I just wanted to write you and thank you for joining in the friends at A Place Called Simplicity. We have been so touched by the outpouring of support and love from so many people.

I have to tell you that I love the name of your blog...by Grace Alone...it is so true of life.

I pray that you are blessed today and that you are reminded of just how much God loves you!

Blessings from Colorado,
Linn