Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him.

Psalms 37:7

We can say much about today’s society, but the one thing we cannot say is that we emulate patience. We want instant gratification whereas our grandparents waited years to achieve their goals. This attitude trickles down to everyday tasks. For instance, if we wait more than 45 seconds for a traffic light to change, we assume it’s malfunctioned. When someone is driving under the speed limit, some display road rage. We expect grocery store checkouts to be as speedy as drive-throughs.

In our spiritual lives, are we are missing a blessing  because we haven’t learned the art of waiting for the Lord’s direction? I know I do this on occasion.

Do we make the same error as Abraham and Sarah, who preempted God’s plans for an heir? Much of the tension in the Middle East is a result of this mistake. History was altered over impatience.

We are still seeing the effects of Abraham and Sarah’s mistake, and yet they are heralded as champions of the faith. Why? They learned to wait on God’s timing, and that is when they started to walk in the blessing, and shortly thereafter their promised heir was born. Was God teaching them patience?

Let’s look at Noah.  He waited patiently on the Lord and continued to build the ark even though it took many years to accomplish this task. Because Noah was faithful to God’s call upon his life, and worked patiently even though others were in disbelief to the point of ridiculing him, he pressed forward and he procured the Lord’s favor in the process. Genesis 6: 8 ESV reads, “But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.” God noticed Noah’s patience.  This resulted in his greatest blessing–God’s continued favor throughout his lifetime.

Friends, God’s timing is perfect. When we allow Him to move according to His schedule, things turn out better than we could ever imagine. Isaiah 55:8, reads, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.”

Let’s wait patiently for the Lord and listen for His voice to guide us before we make choices. Let’s ask Jesus to help us by making Psalm 139: 23-24 ESV our prayer, Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting! Amen.

Share a moment where waiting on God helped you to avoid controversy.

Heavenly Father, help me to make right choices as I wait on You. 

Copyright ©️2019: Father, Are We There Yet?: Author Ed Chappelle: All Rights Reserved 

Meet Our Contributor

ED CHAPPELLE

Ed Chappelle is the Founder and Administrator of Come to the Table Facebook group, a place where people of faith are encouraged to connect with others and share testimonies, articles, and prayer needs. He has been an ordained minister since 2010.

Ed and his wife Kym are known for their animal rescue ministry, Critter Care. Their “family” includes dogs, cats, birds, a guinea pigs, sugar sliders, ferrets, geckos, bearded dragons, tropical fish, and a plethora of God’s creatures. Some people say Ed and Kym genealogy can be traced to Noah.

Ed served in the United States Air Force for over four years, earning the rank of Sergeant. He was eight years old when Apollo 11 went to the moon. His love for his country, the armed forces, and space exploration compelled him to write the tribute, Man on the Moon. He contributes devotions to Come to the Table, VineWords, and other ministries.

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