By Sophia Reed MSHS
What I have come to learn through my own personal experiences, and through encouraging others, is that waiting can be one of the easiest and hardest things you can do. This is because; it requires that nothing be done on your part and requires that you watch other people pass you by while you feel your life is being put on hold. The crazy thing about waiting for God to do something or the things that He has promised you, is no matter how you try to bring about the promise on your own, it is just not going to work. You will fail through your own efforts, sometimes causing you more anguish and more anger toward God.
Through trying to force God’s hand, you may pray more, invest more, work more, spend more time, fast more, network more, believe more, or yell at God in attempts to make Him respond faster. But at the end of the day, none of it is going to work because God’s timing is God’s timing. How many of us ( I know I have) have tried to bargain with God or try to give Him advice on how to make something happen faster or better than what you think He has in mind. This concept is funny because as I go through this process with God, He reminds me that He has thousands and thousands of years of hearing people moan and groan about waiting on His timing. He further reminds me that I can complain all I want to, but He won’t change His mind nor is my complaining bothering Him in the very least.
When you are waiting on God to do something or to fulfill a promise (i.e. a healing, marriage, job, career, money, direction, etc.). You can know that you know that you know, that God has promised you these things, but still after days, weeks, months, or years, you do not see what He has promised you manifest. Then in our human nature, we go into the mode of self-pity and sulking, wondering why God is doing this to us, punishing us, hurting us, hoping that God will put us out of our misery by bringing about what He promised. When all the while God is sitting on His throne, not giving a care about our little temper tantrum. As a matter of fact, He probably finds it a bit comical.
God cares about us and He cares about our pain, but he can really care less if we are stretched thin or if we feel like we are on the brink of insanity while we are waiting for Him. This feeling that we are going through is actually what God prefers!!! Yes!! God wants you to go through things. Not to stay in them and fail, but to come out and win. James 1:3 states “because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance” and to further my point Roman 5:4 states “and perseverance, proves character; and proven character, builds hope.”
This means that when you go through things and trust God to see you through, you build faith every time. For example, if you are waiting on God for a husband and as you wait, instead of getting mad you trusted God you chose to grow closer to Him. You will learn what attributes to look for in a husband because you will know to look for ones that mirror God. The only way you will come to know the attributes that mirror God, is to spend time with Him.
If you are trusting God for a job and through all your efforts, have no way of making an income. Trust God, He will make something out of nothing. And even though you may not live in a way in which you are accustomed, all the things that you need will be provided for. It is through God providing for us, and guiding us in the hardship, that we come to learn that we can trust God for anything and that in fact “He will never leave us nor forsake us” Hebrews 13:5,6. So you see waiting for God is not to make you suffer; it is not because God is ignoring you, it is because of the opposite, He wants you to grow as a person and grow as a Christian. So do not consider this as a burden even though it may feel like one, it’s actually a blessing and God’s way of telling you that you are growing in your faith.
Also Please Check out my Book Now On Amazon In Paperback and E-book Waiting For a Man After God’s Own Heart. You can read the first two chapters free on Amazon.