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God Is in The Waiting

I’m ashamed to admit, but waiting and patience aren’t two words that work well for me. Yet that’s what we’re called to do–to wait on the Lord. We’re called to lift our eyes higher than our struggles and wait on Him. Paul talks of "light and momentary troubles" (2 Corinthians 4:17), which, in fact, were much heavier and more permanent than my actual light and momentary troubles. Yet, Paul learned to wait on God.

David, too, waited, despite "troubles without number" surrounding him (Psalm 40:12). The Israelites also knew waiting, having been enslaved in Egypt for 400 years, then roaming the wilderness for 40, waiting for the promised land. And their attitude unfortunately resembles my own–grumbling and complaining. They even wished they had died back in Egypt–that’s how short their memories were.

Friends, God is with us in the waiting! Psalm 40 tells us that God hears (v1), God acts (v2), and God redeems (v3). God is always working in our waiting. As He brings us into freedom in Him, He gives us a reason to rejoice (v3). Why does God do this when we are so painful? Well, He does it despite our attitude. He does it for Him. For His name’s sake, so that people would "see and fear the Lord and put their trust in him" (v3).

My prayer for all of us is that we choose (and it’s always a choice) to not have the attitude of Job, who needed humbling (Job 38). But let’s choose to wait in humble obedience to God, who always has a plan. And His plan is that He be honored, so let’s rejoice in our waiting.

Written by BREE BOND