“Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him...” Psalm 37:7
We live in a world that is obsessed with speed, always trying to figure out how to do things faster, multi-task and how to cram more things into an already packed day. People seem to take pride in telling us how busy they are!
Speed dating has become more popular – 10+ people, a timer set for 4 mins and go - you have 4 mins (and sometimes less) to impress someone.
Apparently spending an evening having dinner with someone is considered a waste of time, if they don’t meet expectations. We aren’t prepared to wait for anything, instant gratification is the goal.
So when God tells us to wait upon Him, it is hard. ‘How long will it be?’ – can be our first thought.
The process of waiting upon God has so many benefits, which is why God wants us to do it in the first place.
Spurgeon and Piper says it better and clearer than I ever could -
Charles Spurgeon put it this way “If the Lord Jehovah makes us wait, let us do so with our whole hearts; for blessed are all they that wait for Him. He is worth waiting for. The waiting itself is beneficial to us: it tries faith, exercises patience, trains submission, and endears the blessing when it comes. The Lord’s people have always been a waiting people.”
"To wait on God means to pause and soberly consider our own inadequacy and the Lord’s all-sufficiency, and to seek counsel and help from the Lord, and to hope in Him (Psalm. 33:20-22; Isa. 8:17)… The folly of not waiting for God is that we forfeit the blessing of having God work for us. The evil of not waiting on God is that we oppose God’s will to exalt Himself in mercy.”- John Piper
Hamish shows and shames me, how I should be with God, with how he waits patiently for me. He is always alert every time I move, to see if this is the time I play ball or walk him. He lies for hours while I am doing something, and is hopeful when I stop doing a task, that maybe this is the time. Even when I have just come in after a walk or playing ball with him, he is always expectant that I will do it immediately again. It doesn’t matter if it has been 2 mins or many hours since he has had a walk or I played with him, he is always ready, waiting expectantly.
How he shames me! If God doesn’t answer my prayer quickly, often I think the answer is no, rather than thinking it might be ‘wait.’ Sometimes when God has answered my prayers I haven’t been ready. I often have the attention span of a gnat. I either at times forget to pray daily for people, or with a long going situation my prayers have sometimes become perfunctory. If God did chose to answer a long time prayer that day, probably more often than not, I have been a bit surprised. Not that I didn't believe that God could or would do it, but more I got used to how things were.
The process of unlearning what the world has taught us about waiting, and learning correctly how to wait upon God is difficult. But God is showing us how and is strengthening us through the process.
Do you need to hear and be reminded of these promises today?
“I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry.” Psalm 40:1
We live in a world that is obsessed with speed, always trying to figure out how to do things faster, multi-task and how to cram more things into an already packed day. People seem to take pride in telling us how busy they are!
Speed dating has become more popular – 10+ people, a timer set for 4 mins and go - you have 4 mins (and sometimes less) to impress someone.
Apparently spending an evening having dinner with someone is considered a waste of time, if they don’t meet expectations. We aren’t prepared to wait for anything, instant gratification is the goal.
So when God tells us to wait upon Him, it is hard. ‘How long will it be?’ – can be our first thought.
The process of waiting upon God has so many benefits, which is why God wants us to do it in the first place.
Spurgeon and Piper says it better and clearer than I ever could -
Charles Spurgeon put it this way “If the Lord Jehovah makes us wait, let us do so with our whole hearts; for blessed are all they that wait for Him. He is worth waiting for. The waiting itself is beneficial to us: it tries faith, exercises patience, trains submission, and endears the blessing when it comes. The Lord’s people have always been a waiting people.”
"To wait on God means to pause and soberly consider our own inadequacy and the Lord’s all-sufficiency, and to seek counsel and help from the Lord, and to hope in Him (Psalm. 33:20-22; Isa. 8:17)… The folly of not waiting for God is that we forfeit the blessing of having God work for us. The evil of not waiting on God is that we oppose God’s will to exalt Himself in mercy.”- John Piper
Hamish shows and shames me, how I should be with God, with how he waits patiently for me. He is always alert every time I move, to see if this is the time I play ball or walk him. He lies for hours while I am doing something, and is hopeful when I stop doing a task, that maybe this is the time. Even when I have just come in after a walk or playing ball with him, he is always expectant that I will do it immediately again. It doesn’t matter if it has been 2 mins or many hours since he has had a walk or I played with him, he is always ready, waiting expectantly.
How he shames me! If God doesn’t answer my prayer quickly, often I think the answer is no, rather than thinking it might be ‘wait.’ Sometimes when God has answered my prayers I haven’t been ready. I often have the attention span of a gnat. I either at times forget to pray daily for people, or with a long going situation my prayers have sometimes become perfunctory. If God did chose to answer a long time prayer that day, probably more often than not, I have been a bit surprised. Not that I didn't believe that God could or would do it, but more I got used to how things were.
The process of unlearning what the world has taught us about waiting, and learning correctly how to wait upon God is difficult. But God is showing us how and is strengthening us through the process.
Do you need to hear and be reminded of these promises today?
“I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry.” Psalm 40:1
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