All tagged wait

What are we doing as we wait on God? Do we even know what we are waiting for? We have all been through times when we weren’t certain what we would like the Lord to actually do for us, or what His will was in our lives and faith, but we do know that being adrift on a sea of uncertainty is not good. So, when we find ourselves becalmed on a motionless sea, let’s not ask the Lord that we will reach our ultimate destination but simply pray for a breeze to fill our sails and how we should set our rudder, as we wait on Him. Then, as we wait for the breeze to pick up let’s go about the various tasks of living in the faith that Jesus, and God’s Word, have taught us.

My devotional reading for today had to do with those times between callings and it blessed me by helping me to wait patiently for God's voice. What do we do during these quiet times of our faith, the times between callings and other spiritual experiences? Sailors of tall ships and other sailing vessels call these hours and days when the wind isn't blowing as being "becalmed." When they find themselves sitting motionless, they make busy about the ship preparing for the next leg of their voyage while they wait for a breeze and hopefully a steady wind to fill their sails once more. We should do the same in our spiritual voyages. This is a time to mend the sails in preparation for the coming breeze… not to take up oars ourselves.

Today is the last day of September and this morning's devotion speaks of the fullness and boldness of prayer. This year is passing by quickly, and we are looking forward expectantly as we wait for Christmas to arrive. We wait on many things of faith during the year, just as the disciples of old did, but let’s focus today on how Jesus told his disciples to remain in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit came. They were expected to sit tight, to wait, just as we are expected to wait until we receive those things of prayer that we are anticipating. Our opening scripture today will be Luke 24:49.

The scripture passage from my devotional reading this morning could either reassure us or cause us to tremble. E.M. Bounds had titled his devotional message "All My Longings" and spoken of God answering our fervent prayers. However, his scripture selection was a double edged sword. He had chosen a verse that would thrill the righteous believer while at the same time bringing fear to the wayward sinner. It deals with a common theme in the Bible… God knows our heart.

This morning as I read my daily devotion, I was struck by what E.M. Bounds wrote regarding waiting on God to answer our prayers. Bounds referred to this as a test, but I couldn't agree with his conclusion that God would use waiting for an answer to prayer to test us. No, I believe it allows us to see, and realize, the strength in our own maturing faith. When we are made to wait it shows us how much we have increased in our ability to demonstrate patience, trust, hope, and confidence in God. For some of us we see progress in our faith right away, but for others it takes a great deal of time to fully develop these traits.

We are all moved to work diligently for the kingdom when we are in the middle of an active calling, but how do we spend our time after God has called us out, after a calling is complete, and we are praying for God to reinsert us into his service? Is this simply a time of rest, do we give up and put our faith on the shelf, or maybe we find ourselves unsettled, despondent, or impatient as we cry and ask for a new assignment?