The Art of Waiting

Why is waiting considered an art?  I believe it's because not everyone does it well.  It takes committed people staying true to themselves and God; having established a goal, purpose, or ambition that they feel by achieving their dreams will bring dividends that make the waiting worth while.  To settle for anything less would be considered a compromise.

Sometimes the mind deceives us into thinking that the standard for which we set for ourselves is unattainable, unrealistic, and perhaps even improbable in a world of new-age thinking and values.  It is my belief that the standard, whereby a Christian lives, will surpass the world’s standard of living by far.  There is no comparison in the two. 

God said that He would give us the desires of our heart when we put Him first in our life.  When we do this we can ask God to fulfill His promise; and then begins the process of expecting.  As we petition the Lord and pray according to His will, we can expect to receive the answer, because God said that it is ours if we ask in faith believing.  We need only to trust God and wait—faith is then at work.

(Hebrews 11:1), “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

(Mark 11:24), “Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.”

The art of waiting comes when we stand on God’s promises and refuse to give into our waffling mind that tells us something else all together.  Why should we entertain thoughts that our goals are unattainable, when God Himself said that it’s possible for us to obtain them? 

Who places worthwhile goals in our heart and the drive to achieve them?  It is God, because He desires to give us the very best not only in this life, but the life to come, for those that love Him and are the called.  It is when we give into the notion of settling, that defeat becomes our bedfellow and replaces God’s very best with a counterfeit.

Yes, it takes perseverance, patience, and fortitude to endure persuasions that are saying, “You’ve waited long enough,” or “It’s never going to happen for you.”  The truth of the matter is this; if God is for us then who can be against us.  God has a plan for every Believer and His plan is perfect.  It starts with an idea or goal that He places within our heart, and as we wait and watch the hand of the Lord at work we learn that goals are attainable to those that are in Christ Jesus.

(Matthew 21:22), “And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.” 

God sees us where we are and knows exactly what we need.  We needn’t fear that He has forgotten our name or where we live.  He orchestrates His will in our life as we wait and give Him time to work out the details.  The more patience we allow to flow through our thought process the more victory we possess in our daily walk with Him as we watch and wait. 

There is truth in the lyrics of this song; “Trust and obey for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus, if we trust and obey.”  Trusting Jesus with our life makes good sense.  There is no other way to walk in peace.

The Bible is rich with encouraging words and promises, such as, (Psalm 37:4-7), “Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.”  vs.5 “Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.  vs.6 “He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.”  vs.7 “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him…” 

As we wait on God, expecting, while keeping our mind under subjection by not shifting to the left or to the right, and preventing double mindedness from becoming our weakness, we are showing God that we trust Him and that we know He will not fail us.  The art of waiting becomes the act of faith.

I heard a preacher say one time; “Faith is the ability of man to trust the honesty of God.  If God said He’ll do something, believe that He will do it.”

We may not see our goals fulfilled as yet, but we can know that our goals are on God’s horizon.  With this in mind we can believe that our worthwhile objectives; the ones that God said was ours; are soon to appear as we stand fast and wait with our eyes focused on the horizon.  Every dream, desire, and aspiration will be fulfilled, while waiting upon the Lord.

(Matthew 7:7-11), “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find, knock, and it will be opened to you.”  vs.8 “For everyone who asks receives; and he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks it will be opened.”  vs.9 “Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?”  vs.10 “Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent?”   vs.11 “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!”

Written by,

Papa Boyd