Do you like to wait? I didn’t think so. I can’t remember ever hearing someone say they enjoy waiting.
We know that patience is a fruit of the Spirit, but nobody actually likes to wait. Yet everyday we’re forced to wait – sometimes for things we need and sometimes for things we want, and often we have to wait on people.
Statistics show that the average person spends close to an hour everyday waiting for something – elevators, traffic lights, your turn at the intersection, your turn to pay at the grocery store, a cup of coffee, a table or your food at a restaurant, the computer file to download, and even the microwave…which is supposed to keep us from waiting for the oven!
When you add up all that waiting over a lifespan of 70 years, the average person will spend more than 3 years of their lives WAITING for something to happen.
But as difficult as it is to wait on ordinary things in life, it’s really hard to wait on God. It’s my guess you are waiting on God right now. You have a need you have praying about and you are waiting on God to answer. I believe that is true for most of us. Maybe you are waiting on:
Today is was reading in Exodus and I came across a small verse that stopped me in my tracks. It’s found in Exodus 7:7. It says, “Moses was eighty years old and Aaron eighty-three when they spoke to Pharaoh.”
Let that sink in for a moment. Moses was 80 years old and Aaron was 83 years old when their ministry began, not when it ended. They were finally old enough to fulfill God’s purpose for their lives.
Our culture today puts a lot of value on youth. We all understand this. There is something powerful about having your life ahead of you with all of the possibilities and opportunities. But this focus on youth should not be to the exclusion of those who are older in age.
I want to speak to those of you who are listening who may be in your sixties, seventies, or even eighties. You are not to old for God to use your life. In fact, you might just be getting started with what God wants to do in your life.
If you have read the story of Moses’ life in the Book of Exodus, you know he tried to take God’s timing into his own hands. He saw the Hebrews being oppressed so he killed an Egyptian and buried him in the sand. This was not God’s timing or his plan.
Moses learned what we have to learn. It’s not easy to wait for God’s timing.
God knows what he is doing. His delays are always on purpose. When we dare to live by God’s timing, great things happen.
Psalm 27:13-14 - “I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!”
There is something wonderfully freeing about trusting God. It is exciting to see what God will do. When the doors seem closed it is important to wait and see what door God will open. When the door is open it is exciting to see how God will equip you to meet the present challenge. The life of faith is an adventure.
Lamentations 3:25 - “The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.”
Today’s Challenge: Are you in a season of waiting on God? If so, recognize that waiting can be a part of God’s purpose. Give God your frustration and ask him for contentment. Decide to trust his plan, his purpose, and his timing.
