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ISAIAH 64:4
In this hurry up world, waiting for anything can cause us to lose our temper, our good sense, and our tongues-more frequently than we care to admit! No one enjoys waiting in line. We don’t like waiting at stop-lights. We don’t like waiting for dinner. We don’t even like waiting for good things, like for fish to bite. We want what we want right now.
Yet the Word of God insists that we learn some of life’s greatest lessons while we wait. Waiting rooms can be hard classrooms, but God promises vast rewards to those who wait for Him. God plans to use the long pauses in our lives for our blessing – if we let Him.
Why does God so often ask us to wait! Let’s consider five major rewards of waiting.
1. We discover God’s will and purpose in the things that most concern us.
“The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him” (Lam.3:25). God does not string us out to tantalize us. He does not dangle carrots in front of our noses to lead us along. He does not say, as do many earthly parents, “We’ll see.” No. Right now, even as we wait, He is working all things together for our good and His glory (see Rom. 8:28).
2. We receive supernatural physical energy and strength.
God invites us to claim His promise in Isaiah 40:29-31: “He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”
God promises that as we wait on Him, He will supply us with supernatural, physical energy. While our impatience makes us weary and worn, actively waiting on Him energizes us. Five or ten minutes of waiting on God can be like a two-hour nap. Waiting on Him is never wasted time!
3. We win battles.
“Wait for the LORD, and He will save you” (Prov. 20:22). How wonderful to see the Lord rescue us and bless us with His favor! When we do things our way, in our own hurried time, we end up defeated. But waiting on God will ensure our victory and keep us from foolish and precipitous acts.
4. We see the fulfillment of our faith.
“They shall not be ashamed who wait for Me” (Is. 49:23). In the end, we’ll never feel embarrassed for waiting on God; it’s always the smart thing to do. When others encourage us to forge ahead instead of waiting on the Lord, we need to remember that we will never ultimately be put to shame. “But Lord,”we may say during a long wait, “suppose it doesn’t work out?” His answer? He’ll never let us down!
5. We see God working on our behalf.
Isaiah spoke of the God “who acts for the one who waits for Him” (Is. 64:4), What a wonderful promise! While we actively wait, He actively works. Think of this: every single day, we have the greatest Mediator working on our behalf, when things go wrong or when they go right.
Although waiting can be one of the more difficult things in the Christian life, it is not wasted time. God gives us instructions through periods of actively waiting. He may change our circumstances while we wait. He keeps us in step with Himself and prepares us for His answers. He uses the time to sift our motives and strengthen our faith. And when we choose to wait, God rewards us with blessings both large and unexpected.
Think of waiting on God as something like planting a garden. You put a seed under the soil and water it. And then you wait.
And wait.
And wait.
After the sun and rain pelt the earth, the seeds begin to grow, and one day, finally, you begin to see evidence of what you planted. Now, suppose you had grown impatient and dug up your seeds because nothing seemed to be happening? You would have ruined your garden.
Remember, some fruit takes a long time to mature and the One who wants to bring it forth in our lives knows exactly how long we need to wait. Waiting makes possible the most luscious fruit of all.
Stanley, Charles F. The Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Daily Bible. Thomas Nelson, 2007.
