Pastor Wayne Cordeiro
August 15, 2004 - W0433

Many of us don’t like to wait yet waiting is all life seems to be sometimes. We wait for the right person to come along for marriage, hope to start a family, hope to get out of a dead end job, or long to have a meaningful job to add significance to our life. Yes, waiting is tough, but there is a purpose for waiting. And Isaiah gives us great hope for those times: “Those who wait for the LORD will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary” (Is. 40:31)

Q1: What are you waiting or hoping for?  How long have you been waiting?  What has been your attitude during this wait?

You see, waiting on the LORD will build new strength. Think of a plant. There is a period of waiting from the time the seedling is planted in the ground to the time it bears fruit, it is a necessary process in order for the plant to grow. So too are our waiting periods. It is a time to grow and to learn. Secondly…

Q2: Are there times when you or a close friend or family member, has moved too quickly?  What were the consequences?  In hindsight, what might have been a better path to take? 

Q3: Life is full of unexpected events.  Share with each other an event that taught you wisdom, patience, and to trust in God.

·        WAITING TIMES ARE GROWING SEASONS.

We have a choice to either squander the opportunity to grow or to ask the Lord His purpose for us. So cooperate with the Lord and redeem those years of waiting, 

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience…” (Gal. 5:22)

“..[be] imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises” (Heb. 6:12)

It’s a growing season we don’t want to shortcut and squander. We want to use it for what God intended it for: to gain new strength. Not only that…

·        WAITING TIMES ARE FAITH BUILDING SEASONS.

The Bible says, “Be still and know that I am God”. We really find out God is God during those times of being still and waiting upon the Lord. The Bible is filled with stories of faithful servants waiting for God’s promise. God promised Abraham that he would father a nation. Yet he had to wait twenty-four more years, before he had his first child. Moses was told that he would lead his people out of bondage. That took another 40 years. God promised Israel that he would make it a nation. That happened 400 years. It took a century for the promise of the Messiah to be fulfilled.

And guess who recognized the Messiah? That’s right, it was those who waited. Still, why does God take so long? Well, the Bible says, “Don’t ignore this fact, but with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day”. (2 Pet. 3:8)

You see our concept of time is not the same as God’s. And often we want God’s resources without His timing. We want instant everything. However, God wants something greater from and for us. He wants us to have a trusting heart. And that can only happen seasons of waiting.

“Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this said, ‘This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?’ As a result… many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore” (John 6:60, 66) Do we follow God because He is convenient and brings us comfort? Or do we follow God because we have a deep trust and faith in His ways and promise? 

The period between Friday when Jesus died on the cross to the Sunday morning when He was resurrected was the toughest time for Jesus’ disciples to follow Him. Yet it was a time that built their faith. It’s easy to believe and follow after the resurrection. But it is in the season of waiting that our faith is built. Waiting on God is disciplined hope and a confident expectation. And sometimes it is just a painful clinging to God. It’s obeying and trusting the Lord even when things aren’t turning out the way we want it to. The thing is, it may never turn out the way we want, but we must be resolute because that’s the kind of faith that will overcome the world.

Some of us may be in a very vulnerable moment right now and God may be asking us to let go of some things. However, our tendency is to grab hold of anything out of desperation. However, God is saying to just trust and wait on Him. Well just how do we redeem these times of waiting? Well here are three general readiness steps God gives us to help us in seasons of waiting. The first step to remember is…

WAITING SEASONS ARE SEASONS OF:

1.     REPENTING & QUICK FORGIVENESS.

Sometimes we’re in waiting seasons because of our own doing. We’ve isolated ourselves through decisions we’ve made that aren’t good. Friendships we’ve made that aren’t the best and God humbles us. That’s why it’s important in those quiet moments to ask God, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” (Ps. 139:23-24) God promised David that he would be king, but David found himself running for his life from Saul. And rather than cursing God, David asked God to search his heart and correct whatever needed correcting in him. And we need that same kind of correcting from time to time.

Jesus told his disciples that the devil would try to discourage them. He assured them that the devil should not be believed. “I will not speak much more with you, for the ruler of the world is coming, and he has nothing in Me” (John 14:30). In other words, the enemy will try to destroy us, but if we ask God to search our hearts and if we repent and forgive quickly, the devil will have nothing on us. It’s a wonderful way to redeem times of waiting. Not only that…

·        THE QUICKER YOU FORGIVE, THE MORE QUICKLY YOU HEAL.

“But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your transgressions” (Matt. 6:15) If we don’t forgive it will affect us.

It’s easy to forgive when we believe someone deserves it or they’ve groveled enough.  But holding grudges is like finding yourself coming into contact with a hot pan and holding onto it much longer than wise. The result is burned hands. So if you find yourself isolated in the desert, ask yourself if you are extending your own pain.

Remember the quicker we forgive, the quicker we heal. Then the second step to help us redeem those times of waiting is to…     

2.     EXCEL WITH JOY.

“For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised” (Heb. 10:36) 

It’s so easy to grumble when we have to wait and our circumstances seem unbearable. Instead, use this time to increase and develop your gifts. Excel in your depth and wisdom. Develop your devotional habit so you can learn to understand and recognize God’s voice. Use this waiting season to get your home, body, and life in order.

“Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and a glad heart, for the abundance of all things; therefore you shall serve your enemies…” (Deut. 28:47-48).

Serve the Lord with joy no matter what your circumstances are. If you grumble, enemy will use your words and actions against you. So serve with a joyful heart and learn what God is requiring of you. Finally, if you do those things, you will build…

3.     CONTENTMENT WITH HUMILITY.

“The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance” (2Pet. 3:9).

“The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; indeed, my heritage is beautiful...” (Ps. 16:6) In the Hebrew it says, “However it looks in this season of my life, I am satisfied with the way God is treating me”.

God is not slow about His promises and there is a purpose for each waiting season. There may be certain things inside of us that need to grow in order to receive His promise. Maybe we need to change the way we think, or learn repentance and quick forgiveness. Maybe it’s a season to excel with joy instead of grumbling. It could be that we need to restore some relationship bridges we’ve burned. Whatever the reason, we need to learn to wait on the Lord because He is teaching us how to develop a stalwart heart. And it can only happen during seasons of waiting on the Lord. Sure it’s not easy, but God knows what’s best and we need to trust Him. You see when we come to that point we become extremely fruitful, content, and humble. What is humility?

HUMILITY IS: THE GENTLE BOW OF THE BRANCH LADDEN WITH FRUIT.

The greatest people of all are people of humility. Sometimes we think humility is someone who doesn’t have much. Humility may actually be found in someone who has everything. Some of the gentlest people aren’t weak at all, but fruitful, wise, and willing bow. They understand the season of waiting. Something good takes place by God’s design and timing, when you submit to His will.  Your circumstances may look like it is in disarray, but trust that God is growing and building your faith. Then through repentance, forgiveness, and serving with joy you will find contentment with humility.

Q4: How has God changed the direction in your life?

Q5: Set goals for yourself and share with others.  How will you change from hoping for earthly satisfactions to fulfilling God’s purpose?

Q6: What steps will you take to steward your waiting season to a season of learning faithfulness and gaining new strength from God?

Thank you to volunteer writer, Phyllis Unebasami, a woman with stalwart faith!