Waiting on God

"Just Wait!" Nobody likes to hear those words, but it seems that waiting is what we do more than anything. I want to be doing something all the time. If I am on hold with someone on the phone, I will be typing or doing some other desk work while I wait. Waiting is also necessary. Not everyone can be first; therefore, someone ends up waiting. Waiting is something we learn about in the Bible and there is a way in which God wants us to "wait" on Him.

• Wait Expectantly In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation. Psalm 5:3 We are supposed to expect God to answer our pleas. We should make our requests known to him first thing when we wake up and then wait. I generally pray and think that God will probably tell me "No", but expectantly speaks of waiting with hope.

• Wait Eagerly But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope. Galations 5:5 This seems like a oxymoron, but Hannah waits eagerly for many things. She waits eagerly for all the holidays, vacations, parties, and any other fun outings. One reason it’s hard for me to wait eagerly on God is because I don’t know what He has planned for me. I must realize though that he does have "good plans" for me.

• Wait Patiently Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Psalm 37:7 Although Hannah is good at waiting eagerly, she is definitely not good at being patient-- not that many of us are. Patience means the capacity to tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without becoming angry or upset. We worry and try to help Him out, because we know He meant to take care of our situation long before now. He must have lost track of time. It is so hard to understand that He is in control and has His own time table.

• Wait Quietly It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD. Lamentations 3:26. This is probably the hardest one for me. I may wait, but it won’t be quietly. I will have to gripe and complain about how long it’s taking for God to answer me. I won’t understand why He answered the way He did, and I will definitely want to explain His method.

In Numbers 9:8 it says that Moses answered them saying, "Wait until I find out what the LORD commands concerning you." We should not make one move without knowing what God wants. Sometimes He just wants us to stay where He has put us and do the best we can in our present position. According to the Bible, it is wise to wait and find out what He wants us to do before we move forward.