Tied On – The Cowboy’s DevotionalSample

HURRY UP AND WAIT

From the outside looking in, people might think I’m a patient man, but get me in the round pen with a two-year-old colt or ask me to help gather cattle, and you will find out pretty quickly that I’m not that patient. Instead of waiting for the correct response from my colt, I want to force it. Instead of waiting on those cows to choose to go in, I want to make them go in. But the more I’ve worked with horses and cattle, the more the phrase “hurry up and wait” proves true. When you wait on a horse to give you the correct response, the horse learns and you get along better. When you wait on one cow to be a leader and lead the others into the pen, it usually works better than forcing them.

The same is true when it comes to waiting on the Lord. Many times we don’t wait on the Lord because we think we can get it done quicker or more easily our way. Well, that same phrase that pays when working with cattle or horses works in our spiritual lives also—hurry up and wait. Instead of trying to make something happen ourselves, we are to wait on the Lord! We are to wait on His answers to our questions about life. We are to wait for Him to show us what His will is or His plans are!

David, the writer of the Psalms, figured out that waiting on the Lord pays in the end: Psalm 40:1-3:

I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me up out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord.

David was in many pits! He committed adultery with Bathsheba. He murdered. He did things his way, instead of waiting on God’s provision. But finally, because he waited patiently on the Lord, the Lord lifted him out of the pit!

CHEW ON THIS
What decision are you making on your own right now that you should be waiting on God’s answer before moving forward?

PRAYER
God, help me to be strong as I wait for you. Help me to trust that you will work everything out for your glory if I will just wait for your perfect timing. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.