08/21/2018
Does waiting on God seem tedious to you? Perhaps it has become this way because you have the idea that He is doing nothing while you wait, and that He continues on doing nothing until at long last, in a moment suited to His good pleasure, He suddenly cares enough to act. Well nothing could be further from the truth, and waiting should be an active effort on our part in which we watch Him at work.
“"So you, by the help of your God, return, hold fast to love and justice, and wait continually for your God."”
Hosea 12:6 ESV
My son had reached the age where he had his driver’s license, and was constantly borrowing the family car. He wanted an automobile of his own and would accept any old junker as long as it was his. He asked Ann and I constantly for a car, but in his eyes we weren’t taking any action on his request... we must not really care if he had a car or not. However, all the while he was being fed, clothed, provided a roof over his head, taken to and from sports practices, given money for dates, and many other things. Yet his focus was on a car and the wait was overwhelming for him. In his mind we must not care.
All the while we were looking for just the right vehicle. Any old junker would not do, and finally one afternoon Ann was at the grocery store and there it was. She called me and asked me to come take a look... someone had parked a Jeep Wrangler on the outer edge of the parking lot and placed a for sale sign on it. It was a rugged green Jeep with oversized tires, and was outfitted with all of the accessories that going off-road would need... to include a beautiful new Warn model winch on the front bumper with a remote control. It was perfect, and after a little bickering to get the price within our budget, Ann and I agreed to buy it. Our son was more than overjoyed. The wait was over, and he had received far more than he had dared imagine.
This is how we treat our requests to God, and approach his provision. We have a request and we want it answered right now... even if it means settling for something less than what He has in mind for us. As for waiting? Our wait is unbearable because despite all of the things He continues to do for us, and all of the blessings we are receiving each and every day, we are fixed on the one thing we don’t have yet. We become blind to God’s love, care, and provision as we fester in our desire for our latest request. God asks us to wait, but waiting isn’t the same thing as hopefully dreaming that he might hear us, and then in a moment of His weakness care enough to provide... no, waiting is the action of anticipation, and trusting that He cares and is actively pursuing our desire.
“Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.”
Psalms 25:5 ESV
Some people have a bucket list which contains in list form those big things that they would like to have or accomplish before they die. I really don’t have a list, but as I have lived my life there have been a few things that I have wanted to do. At the beginning of this year God and I had pared my wants down to just a very few large items... traveling to Jerusalem, Rome, hiking the Camino de Santiago, and having one of my poems put to music. None of these were grand dreams... a tourist classed visit to Jerusalem and Rome and hiking the Camino while staying in hostels would be more than I could ever dream of, and in all truth... just thinking about them gave me great joy. As for the poem? A person who had just learned to play an instrument, or a singer who knew enough to come up with a melody would suffice. I had no great ambitions; a simple song of praise would do it. So I waited, and as I did so I would travel to these places with God in my mind, and hum the poems I wrote to Him as we journeyed. I was not frustrated, nor did I wait impatiently on them... all of my hopes centered on Jesus, and God; if these things actually happened that would be wonderful, but no matter what, I was content to share them in my dreams, and heart with my God.
Then one day the Lord put a couple in my life, and they had no idea what our friendship in the Lord would mean to me. Over the course of a few years our relationship deepened, and then out of the blue this man wanted to sit down and write a song with me. He could sing and play the guitar, and he knew I wrote poems, because he had read some of them, but he had no knowledge of my long and deep desire to hear one of these poems put to music, and sung to God.
So he came over one evening and we sat on the couch as a miracle happened... my words mingled with his talent, and God gave me an incredible gift through my friend. The amazing part of this is that someone with a novice’s ability in music would have satisfied the request I dreamed of, but God sent me so much more... my friend is a singer/songwriter who has written many great songs that we all hear on the radio. I had asked that I be able to give a simple song back to my Father, and He thrilled my heart by sending one of his best songwriters. I had waited for many years, and hummed hundreds of tunes, but the Lord had more in mind. He didn’t just give me the amateurish song I had dreamed of, but two friends that I cherish, and the ability to hear my words blended with my friend’s, and put to music... then sung by an accomplished writer of incredible musical ability. You see, when we wait on the Lord it isn’t in vain, and when at last the wait is over we find that He has given us far more than we could ever have imagined, or asked for.
So like my son’s Jeep was to Him, as his wait on my wife and I became an expression of our love that exceeded his dreams, my wait on the Lord had been rewarded out of His love with more than anyone could have imagined... two wonderful friends, and an amazing song I will cherish always.
“Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him. For a people shall dwell in Zion, in Jerusalem; you shall weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry. As soon as he hears it, he answers you.”
Isaiah 30:18-19 ESV
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for the answered prayers in my life, and for the waiting upon you which is rewarded by receiving far more than I could ever have imagined. You are Truth, and in you I trust always. Even as I wait on you, and even if my life should end before I receive those things for which I wait, I will be satisfied, because in the course of my waiting you will have been with me. Help me to wait in patience Lord, and to feel your presence each instant as I longingly focus on those things that I desire and that will bring you glory. I thank you Holy Father for removing many desires from my life that I once thought were so important, but that didn’t serve you. I thank you for replacing my wants with your needs, and my selfish longings with those that you know will bring me into your perfect will and rest. I am at peace in you Gracious Father, and find that I can visit far off places in my heart, and hear music in my dreams, if only I place my hand in yours, and wait on you to lead me to your perfect provision. I thank you for the friends you provide me as I walk the way of my faith with you, and the love you give me for them. I thank you for every step I take with your Son Jesus, and the patience taught by your Holy Spirit. You are the focus of my life, and Holy, Holy, Holy, are you in whom I will wait for eternity. Your provision is certain, and your blessings like a gushing spring that knows no end... all glory is yours, now and always.
Rich Forbes