Faith in the waiting...

...and for some, they need to hear this...

Lord, Teach Me to Wait - RUTH L. WHITFIELD

Do you wait on the Lord or do you take matters into your own hands? (Stock Free Images)

Lord, Teach Me to Wait

4/27/2014 RUTH L. WHITFIELD  CHARISMA MAGAZINE, sPIRIT-lED wOMAN

One of my favorite Scriptures is Isaiah 40:31: “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint” (KJV).

Years ago those words were put to music, and I sang them and taught them to my children. The song added the phrase, “Teach me, Lord. Teach me, Lord, to wait.” I loved that passage, and I loved that song. I sang it all the time.

But I didn’t think too much about what I was asking. Did I really want Him to teach me to wait?

I don’t know about you, but I don’t like waiting. It seems like such a waste of time. I could be doing so much with the time I spend waiting! However, our heavenly Father knows there is a value in our learning to wait on Him, so He allows us to be placed in situations where we have no choice but to wait.

I remember the days when we had to wait for dinner to be ready. My mother would start cooking early in the afternoon. She made everything from scratch, and it took time to chop, cook, simmer and serve. She was a fabulous cook, so the end result was fantastic.

We can’t match the result of that effort today. We may try to duplicate it by popping food in the microwave or substituting one ingredient for another. We think we’ll arrive at the same end—but we don’t. Hurrying the process by taking shortcuts just doesn’t produce the same result. Some things just simply take time.

Waiting, however, is never easy. There is such a feeling of helplessness when we are forced into a situation in which we can’t do anything except wait! Back in 2001 our country was thrown into such a situation. People from New York to California watched and waited as the Twin Towers imploded and descended into a heap and the Pentagon burned. We held our breath as people ran for their lives and waited for word of lost loved ones.

We watched in 2005 as Hurricane Katrina devastated the Louisiana and Mississippi coast and thousands waited to hear about their home and family members. We waited with them. More recently, Malaysian Flight 570 disappeared while en route to China. We continued to watch, pray and wait with loved ones and family members of those on board, only to see their hopes dashed to the ground time and time again.

Every day there’s a new turn of events on the news. We don’t know what each day will bring or what we will face when we wake up each morning. At this writing, we await news about those affected from the mudslides in the state of Washington. Many are missing and bodies are still being uncovered. People hope for the best while anticipating the worse. Across the world we watched in horror as a South Korean Ferry boat capsized taking hundreds of young victims into the cold murky waters below. There are few survivors and anguished parents are still waiting for the recovery of their child’s body.

Waiting is painful whether you are sure of the outcome or not. We need someone or something to hold us secure while we wait. That someone is the One by whom all things consist and who holds all things together (see Col. 1:17). He is the One who brings the comfort and strength we need, even in the face of great loss.

We must also remember that we are not waiting simply for an outcome; we are waiting on the Lord. And waiting on Him—no matter how long the process seems to take—will have the best results.

One definition Webster’s gives for “wait” is “look forward expectantly.” Those who wait upon the Lord stay in a place of confident expectation. We may not know what will happen tomorrow, but we know Who holds tomorrow. The promise Isaiah 40:31 gives is that if we depend on the Lord and look forward in hope and expectation, He will renew our strength. We will not fear or lose heart.

The Lord said that in the last days men’s hearts would fail them for fear (see Luke 21:26). Certainly, the events of 9/11 shook the core of our national and personal security. Surely Iran’s radical government poses a current threat to Israel, the U.S. and the European Union. Violence continues to escalate as Russia moves to capture previously lost territory. Some of our troops are still in Afghanistan and we wait for them to come home. Our nation’s choices to accept godless lifestyles as the norm have poised us for judgment. But God has not given us a spirit of fear (see 2 Tim. 1:7).

If you have given in to fear because you don’t know what’s coming, turn away from it and begin to wait—look with expectation—upon the Lord. He can turn things around and work them for good even in the worst situations. He will give you the peace and strength to step boldly into your future with the confidence that He holds the future and His results are best.

Prayer Power for the Week of 4/28/2014

This week, renew your strength by waiting on the Lord and meditating on His goodness. Thank Him that He is all knowing and all-powerful, and we are secure in Him. Thank Him for His faithfulness and ever abiding comfort even during the worst times. Continue to pray for those who have lost loved ones through various tragic events, those struggling with health issues and need of provision, and those who desperately need Christ as their Savior. Pray that God would send more laborers into His harvest field, and tell Him that you are willing to do your part to expand His kingdom. Continue to pray for the persecuted church, the peace of Jerusalem, and our national, spiritual and civic leaders. Isa. 40:31; Col. 1:17; 2 Tim. 1:7.

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I DON’T WAIT ANYMORE.

Editor's Note: This blog was placed on Facebook by a friend. After reading it, I wanted to share it with others.

Whatever you are waiting for, and for some it HAS BEEN years, I can testify (after 50+ years), that God is Faithful. The plans He has for each of us are the best we could ever hope for. 

Be encouraged in your walk with Him today. Eternity is a long time, and we will get there with Him as our Shepherd and Friend, after He has become first our Lord and Savior.

Shalom,

Steve Martin

Founder

Love For His People, Inc.

P.S. I was hoping the Lord would give me something special for the 1000 posting on this Blog. And He did!

I DON’T WAIT ANYMORE.

Posted by gracefortheroad in The Mercy and tagged with follow Jesus, i don't wait anymore, love Jesus, purity ring, singleness, true love waits, waitingFebruary 3, 2012

When I was 16, I got a purity ring.

And when I was 25, I took it off.

I didn’t tell anyone I was doing it — it wasn’t a statement or an emotional thing. I just slipped it off my finger that day and, before tucking it away in a box, ran my finger around the words on the familiar gold band.

“True Love Waits.” Waits.

What’s it “waiting” for, anyway?

*****

I had my reasons for deciding not to wear it anymore. Other people might have other reasons. It’s a graveyard of hearts, this place where single church girls crash into their late 20s and early 30s. Churches see the symptoms. They scramble to reach out to the ever-growing young adult singles crowd who feels alienated by family-oriented services.

But there’s something bigger behind it than that.

Much bigger.

There are a lot of girls out there who don’t know who God is anymore – the God of their youth group years just isn’t working out. Back then, that God said to wait for sex until they are married, until He brings the right man along for a husband. They signed a card and put it on the altar and pledged to wait.

And wait they did.

*****

And waited and waited and waited.

Some of them have prayed their whole lives for a husband, and he hasn’t shown up. They’ve heard the advice to “be the woman God made you to be, focus on that, and then the husband will come.” They’ve read “Lady in Waiting,” gotten super involved in church and honed their domestic skills.

And still they wait.

More than a decade ago, a youth leader handed them a photocopied poem in Sunday School written to them from “God” that said, “The reason you don’t have anyone yet is because you’re not fully satisfied in Me. You have to be satisfied with Me and then when you least expect it, I’ll bring you the person I meant for you.”

And the girls see it posted on their bulletin boards from time to time.

“You’re right, God,” they say. “We’re not satisfied in you yet. We will put you first and then you can bring us a husband in your timing.”

But many of them – if they’re honest – will tell you that time has passed, and it’s wrecking their view of God.

If this is who God’s supposed to be, then He’s tragically late.

So some decide to chuck “Lady in Waiting” out the window … and possibly their virginity with it. Church goes next. God might go next, too. If He doesn’t answer these prayers after they’ve held up their end of the bargain, why would He answer any others?

Whether it was the fault of the leaders, the fault of us girls, or both, a tragedy happened back then.

A lot of girls were sold on a deal and not on a Savior.

*****

I had that poem on my bulletin board all through high school – the one where “God” was telling me to fall in love with Him first and then I would be able to fall in love with a husband later.

Who wrote that poem anyway?

Pretty sure it wasn’t God.

When Jesus was here on the earth, the crowds would follow Him because they saw He gave good things. But that’s not what He wanted. He wanted their hearts for Himself. So He would turn to them and say things like, “If you don’t love Me so much that every other relationship in your life looks like hate by comparison, you can’t follow Me.” (Matthew 10:34-39, paraphrase)

That sounds a lot different from the poem.

Christ is the source of everything we need and the giver of all good gifts … but in telling people about Him, it’s possible we’ve sold them on a solution for life’s problems and not life itself.

What if we as girls had learned early on that having Him was everything, not a means to the life we think He would want us to have.

If we had learned we don’t abstain from sex because we’re “waiting.” We abstain because we love Him.

If I’d had on my bulletin board, “Fall in love with Jesus.” That’s it. Bottom line. That’s everything you need to know, to work toward, to put your hope in.

If I’d learned who He is, what He wants, how to give Him everything, not “wait” so that one day I could give my everything to someone else.

If I’d learned that it’s not bad to pray for a husband, but that my greater prayer should be for Him to spend my life as He chooses for His glory.

If we as believers make that our message, things could be drastically different for a lot of girls wondering why the God they think they learned to follow doesn’t compute. It doesn’t necessarily stop the desire for a husband or end all feelings of loneliness, but it does show a God who provides, loves and gives infinite purpose even to our singleness rather than a God who categorically denies some who pray for husbands while seemingly giving freely to others.

It shows that while marriage is good, He is the greater goal.

*****

Don’t think I’ve done this perfectly.

I’d be deceiving you if you thought that. I’ve had relationships where I made major mistakes. I’ve gone through angst-ridden phases where I met with friends to plead together with God to bring us husbands. I’ve planned major life decisions around possibilities.

I lived like I was waiting for something.

And that’s why I slipped off my ring that day. It wasn’t that I wanted to sleep with people – I haven’t. It wasn’t a slap to True Love Waits, or to anyone who wears a purity ring – saving sex for marriage is good and is His design.

I just didn’t want to wait anymore – didn’t want to live like I was waiting on anyone to get here.

I already have Him … and He is everything.

“Follow Christ for His own sake, if you follow Him at all.” – J.C. Ryle

Website for more from her: Grace For The Road