Love…and Wait“Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him.” Psalm 62:5
“I am sure that God keeps no one waiting unless he sees that it is good for him to wait.” -C.S Lewis
Maybe this Valentine’s Day you thought you were going to finally have a date, but the day is near and he hasn’t shown up. You’re now saying “God when is it my turn?” Well, I want to talk to you today about waiting on the Lord. I know, I know. This isn’t the most popular topic, but it’s necessary if you’re praying and waiting... and waiting...
God could have healed Lazarus when he was still alive. Instead, God waited until he died then raised him from the dead. God could have given Abraham a son at a young age. Instead God made him wait until he was 100 years old to give him Isaac. Why? God could have met the needs of these men quicker, but didn’t. He made them wait. So God can be glorified.
Maybe—like me—you’re waiting for something. Whether that be a job, house, spouse, baby. Take courage friends, the Lord wouldn’t make you wait unless he saw it would be fit for you to wait.
You might be thinking. “That might be easy for you to say but it’s hard waiting.”
Yes, it is hard. I will be the first to admit that. Those days when the waiting really hits hard and you’ve read your bible and you’ve been praying and nothing is happening—are difficult. But, that’s when I look back on my three years of being saved and how much the Lord has done for me. He has never failed me, so I take courage in the fact that he’s growing me—patiently teaching me to endure and persevere.
Waiting not only grows our dependency on the Lord, but builds our faith to…
- have faith in God when we’re at our wit’s end and don’t see light ahead…
- have faith like Abraham when God promised him a son at 85 and made him wait 15 more years to bring him Isaac.
God’s delays also teach us how to be content. In Philippians 4:11b it says
“…for I have learned in whatever situation I am in to be content…”
This is Paul—writing this while he’s in a prison cell. C’mon, if Paul is saying this, so can we.
Pray and wait on the Lord. I’m learning to do this day by day. In my singleness—as I wait—I’m completely dependent on the Lord and his perfect timing. He knows what’s best for me and he sees the whole picture. I can only see today and now. He knows the desires of my heart and he will fulfill his promises to me in his time.
“You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said.” Luke 1:45
I can’t lie and say it’s easy to be single at 25 when everyone around me is married or in a relationship, because it’s not. There are many days when I’m on my knees, just crying out to the Lord. But I know he wants me to learn and grow in him. He wants to teach me new things while I wait—things I might not be able to learn if I wasn’t single.
God made some of the greatest men and women in the bible wait on him. As we read the examples of these true stories, we should take courage and continue to pray for the desires in our heart. God is hearing our prayers as we seek him daily in his word.
Someone gave me this verse about a year ago when I was going through a breakup and I’ve been clinging to it ever since. I pray it encourages you while you wait as well.
“Yet 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.“ Isaiah 40:31
by Jasmin Hernandez