Psalm 62:5, "My soul, wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him."
Today's blog is about waiting on God for all things and in His perfect timing.
First, we must seek God, in our questions and decision making in our lives. God wants to give us direction in our journey of life through Scripture and prayer. As we wait on Him, there are a few requirements to be met in the process. God is not a genie or a bellhop waiting for a question, but He does tell us to ask, knock, and seek Him for all things. We will receive according to His will and in His timing. Our biggest faults are a lack of persistence in our prayerful asking and a lack of trust in His timing. We give up too soon and think God failed to answer our prayers. God may be saying yes, but not now. God may be saying no, I have greater things in mind.
Let's discuss what we need to have in our 'question and waiting on an answer' process....
Requirements for waiting on the Lord
1. Faith—Faith is knowing who God is and fulfilling His purposes through you.
"No man knows his purpose until he knows the One who created him," says Paul Ojeda.
We must believe that walking in the will of God is the right path for our life's journey. We must choose to listen and follow Him alone, not what the world says is right—at the time.
"Faith can do much for you. It is not enough to be healed of your disease, unless you take up your bed and walk. O the life of grace which I have seen in some! Their meat and drink is to do the will of God." —Samuel Ward
2. Trust in God—We must believe His timing is perfect and always right. Trust in His timing before making a decision. "God is the only rock on which we may rest safe in times of danger. Trusting in Him brings peace in every circumstance." —Richard Sibbes
3. Patience—God’s timing is rarely our own, but it is always worth waiting for. You never waste time waiting on God. Psalm 37:7,"Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes."
4. Determination—We must be willing to obey the voice of the Holy Spirit, even the whispers. "To constantly fight against sin is a big part of mortification. We need to recognize the enemy we are dealing with and that he is to be destroyed by all possible means. The battle is a hazardous one that deals with issues of eternity. When a man sees his lust as a trivial thing, it is an indication that he is not mortified. We cannot go forward unless we recognize the danger of our own hearts." —John Owen
5. Strength—We must rely on the strength from God to say "No" to things that He does not want for us or in our lives, because our flesh is weak. "The soul is cast down when our sorrow does not bring us to God, but away from God. There is no discouragement in any affliction or trouble whatsoever, but it is a lack of trusting in God. We may not know the reason God has allowed it, and this requires our trust. When we do not trust in God, we are trusting in ourselves, and we cannot experience victory in our own strength." —Richard Sibbes
6. Endurance—"You, who have shown me great and severe troubles, shall revive me again," Psalms 71:20. "How long, Lord, must I call for help?” Habakkuk 1:2.
"As with Habakkuk, God hears our burdens. We must continue to cast them on the Lord because He cares for us. God hears us and, in His time, will give an answer." odb.org
Many of us pray for our loved ones, but we may never see the results in our lifetime. We must still persist until we do see the prayer answered or until we draw our final breath. "God’s memory is perfect. He is able to remember our prayers not only for years but also for generations beyond our lifetime. He never forgets them and may move in response long after we first brought our requests to Him. Sometimes His answer is “No,” other times it is “Wait”—but His response is always measured with love. God’s ways are beyond us, but we can trust that they are good."
As for our family, we pray for a cure for our neuromuscular disease, CMT, but it's a prayer not just for us and those currently afflicted, but for the generations ahead with it. Unanswered prayers don't go in God's deleted file but maybe just in a future file to be dealt with later.