As I was laying in a bamboo hut in the midst of all of my affliction this past month, I was really struggling with the frustration of waiting on the Lord for answers. I spent a lot of time in questioning prayer and then came to the conclusion that I would study the topic of "waiting on God." So I read multiple scriptures and multiple devotionals and then I wrote the following sermon. On the World Race we do a ton of preaching so it never hurts to be prepared with a sermon or two. I hope that this message with biblical findings from the word of God can bring you the same peace that they brought to me. Love you guys! <3
　
How Long Oh Lord?
I don't know about all of you, but I know that my head and my heart don't always agree.
My head understands that God's timing is not my timing. But does my heart believe that God's perfect timing is better then MY timing?
Frequently I find myself asking, "Lord, why not now?"
"Why won't you tell me exactly where I should live now?"
"Why won't you tell me how or when I should start the non-profit organization that you have put on my heart now?"
"Why can't I have the husband that I desire now?"
Now, now, now.
In John 13:37-38 Peter also asked Jesus, "Lord, why can I not follow you now?" Jesus' reply was very blunt. Extremely straight forward. He said "Will you really lay down your life for me? Very truly I tell you, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times."
Wow. If I were Peter, I believe that Jesus' response would have offended me. I would have felt hurt and probably pretty embarrassed. But the truth is that Jesus knew Peter and Peter's heart, better than Peter knew himself. And surely enough, immediately after Jesus was arrested, Peter denied Jesus three times. And what do you know? All three times before the rooster crowed.
Sometimes we think that we are strong enough or mature enough spiritually to handle a specific task or situation. Sometimes we are absolutely certain that we are perfectly equipped to for a desired blessing. But the Lord, in all of His sovereignty, knows us far better than we know ourselves. He knows when we are not yet ready to handle assignments or blessings in a way that will bring God all of the glory.
In Matthew 20:22 Jesus asks two of His disciples, James and John, "Can you drink from the cup that I am going to drink? You don't know what you are asking." His disciples had previously asked to be seated at His left and at His right in the Kingdom of God. In this scripture, Jesus is enforcing the point that what they are asking Him for will not be easy or comfortable. It will be a process of discipline and self-sacrifice.
Sometimes when we ask God for something, we are not prepared for the trials of the process that it will take to reach the finish line or end goal. Sometimes there is pain and suffering in the process. We must come to the realization that in order to be prepared to receive good gifts, or to become a trusted ruler in the Kingdom of God, we must first be refined. The Lord uses the process to refine us, so that we are able to glorify Him when our requests and desires are finally fulfilled.
In Habakkuk 2:3, the Lord clearly warns for us to wait for the appointed time, even when it lingers. We must wait! God's timing is appointed.
It is designated.
It is assigned.
It is perfect.
When we have been given a promise, a vision, or a passion from the Lord, we must first seek Him. Oswald Chambers says it best, "We cannot bring the vision into fulfillment through our own efforts, but must live under its inspiration until it fulfills itself." We can do nothing of OUR own strength to fulfill God's promises in OUR timing or through OUR methods. We must first seek the Lord and seek His will, and then trust that God will be faithful and that His promises will be fulfilled.
Of course I stumble. There have been countless times that I have become like Abram and have tried to take God's will and God's timing into my own hands. I should know by now that manipulating God NEVER works. Abram had to learn that the hard way too. Let's look at Genesis 15:1-5. In this passage the Lord promised Abram a descendant of his own flesh and blood. But Abram was very old and his wife Sarai was also very old. He had disbelief in his heart. So when God's promise didn't come to pass in Abram's idea of perfect timing, he and his wife Sarai took matters into their own hands. This resulted in Abram being disobedient to God.
Isn't it true how often our impatience also leads to disobedience?
But because the Lord is always faithful, after 13 years God fulfilled His promise to Abraham and Sarah. He blessed them with their son Isaac.
Sometimes God's promises might take a lot longer than we expect to be fulfilled. In Abraham's case it took 13 years. But when God makes a promise He is faithful to complete it, always. Don't complicate the process by trying to manipulate the Lord's timing.
So why do we spend so much time fretting or worrying?
The bible says in Psalm 37:5-8 to "commit all of your plans to the Lord." To trust in Him. It tells us not to fret. Worrying is only caused by our planning without God. As long as we don't set up selfish plans apart from God or our own private agendas, we have nothing to worry about. Take just a moment to think about that very humbling thought.
John 15:7-8 is very re-assuring for me. If we remain in God's will and if we are in a right relationship with Him, the Lord will give us what we ask Him for. But God does not just give us blessings to bless us. The PURPOSE of God's blessings are to bring God, Himself, glory. It is not about us. It is about God. God is always going to be faithful to bless His children to glorify Himself.
So while we are waiting, let us bring God glory by trusting in His perfect timing. Let us endure the trials with faith (most recently for me an extremely painful scorpion sting to the toe out in the bush of Mozambique). Let us be patient. Let us believe that God will bless the children whom He loves, in order that He might bring Himself glory.
My last question is, What shall I do when the blessing finally comes?
There is a great example of what NOT to do in Exodus 16:20. When the Lord blessed the Israelites daily with manna to eat, they were clearly instructed not to hoard or keep any of the manna until the next morning. However, some of the Israelites disobeyed. The manna that was kept until morning was full of maggots and began to smell.
When God gives us a blessing, we are not to hoard it all for ourselves. We are to use our blessings to further God's kingdom and to bring Him glory.
In John 17:21-22, Jesus prays to His father on behalf of all of us as believers. He asks for us to be glorified so that the world may believe in the glory of God. All of our blessings are to be used to glorify God and to bring His children into unity with Him.
If you have desired blessings in your life that you are waiting for the Lord to fulfill, seek Him and trust in His timing. He is faithful.
If you are constantly worrying, stop and ask yourself, "Am I including God in all of my plans or am I planning solo?" "Am I putting His will above my own?"
And if you have had a blessing bestowed upon you by the Lord, I encourage you to use that blessing for God's kingdom. Bless others. Bless the Lord by bringing Him glory.
Thank you!
　
　
