When was the last time you gave up on something you were praying for because God seemed to be taking too long to reply? You concluded the answer was "no" and embraced your disappointment, but not necessarily with contentment. We just think time is up--God would've come through by now if he were going to at all.
We tend to run ahead of God, instead of follow. We try to make our own way, create our own blessings and control our own destinies. There are lessons to be learned on such occasions--like the limits of your faith or the depth of your impatience or the strength or weakness of your perseverence. God is always trying to show us who we really are.
God has another view of time. He counsels us to persevere (James 1:2, 3). He likes it when we are persistent (Luke 18:1-8). Perhaps most of all, he wants us to wait in faith. The Bible talks alot about the fact that sometimes waiting is a central part of God's plan.
Psalm 130: 5
I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope.
Psalm 33:20
We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield.
Isaiah 30:18
Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are those who wait for him!
Lamentations 3:25, 26
The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.
God has perfect purposes in making us wait. He is most likely at work on things we wouldn't even understand if he explained it all to us. While we are chomping at the bit he is taking care of business with perfect priorities in place and a perfect timeline for achieving his will and meeting our highest needs--which may not coincide with our most urgent wants. So we must wait. Wait patiently, faithfully, hopefully, peacefully, confidently. Wait. He alone knows the perfect time for everything. (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8)
Psalm 27:14
Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.
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