What to Do During Our Wait

O. T. #1580 "What to Do During Our Wait"
Dec. 6, 2019
Isaiah 8-Part 2

LET IT GLOW

Waiting for the Lord is not an easy task. Do I hear an amen? We are there now in our ministry. In the meantime, we are resting in His promises. What are we do while we wait for the test results, wait for an illness to pass, wait for a child to return to God and the church, wait for God to make matters right in a particular situation, or wait for His will to be revealed, is important.

Wendy Pope, a writer connected with Proverbs 31, a women's ministry of encouragement, gave some good suggestions in her book, Wait and See:

• Waiting well looks forward to the future while staying present in the present.
• Ask God to show us His plan, and begin to align our heart with His heart.
• Trust that God acts on behalf of those who are willing to wait and see (Isaiah 64:4) and that He does immeasurably more than we can think or imagine (Eph. 3:20).
• As we wait, find peace in God's plans and hope in His pauses.
• Our focus moves from the object of our wait to the Person of our faith.
• The wait is more about experiencing God than enduring the delay.
• Waiting for God means activity under His command; readiness for any new command that may come, praying for His direction; involves the ability to do nothing until the command is given.
• We need to prepare in the pauses so we're ready to embrace God's plans.
• Waiting well pushes through the pause by doing what we know to do. (Continue to read Scriptures, pray, and trust God.)
• What if we view waiting as a pause or an interlude, a place we can experience the peace of God while He works in us so He can work through us?
• We have to allow God to do a work in us before He can do a work through us.
• Waiting on God is a good time to solidify your love for Him and others.
• The closer we get to God's heart, the further we get from sin.
• Waiting well demonstrates a willingness to adjust our perspective.
• God is never inactive while we wait.

Dear one, are we in a position of wait and see? Keep on keeping on with God.

LET IT GROW

Wendy gives us skills for our wait training:

• Do what we know to do until we know something else to do.
• Move when God asks.
• Nurture our relations with the Person of our faith through prayer and His Word.
• Accept help from the unexpected and defeat the uninvited.
• We have to believe the God of possibilities rather than be overwhelmed by the impossibility of our situation.
• Apply biblical truth to lies, for then the lies Satan tells us die.
• Pray. Prayer is a simple conversation with God birthed out of a humble heart to simply seek Him.
• Sing praises to God, our fortress, who shows us steadfast love.
• Waiting on God isn't wasting time; it's training time; be where we should be, dong what we should be doing. 
• Don't fret; trust; commit; be still. Read Psalm 37.
• Delight in the law (Word) of the LORD and meditate on it day and night. Psalm 1
• For armor fashion tips, read Ephesians 6: put on the belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, shoes of readiness fitted with the gospel of God's peace, helmet of salvation, sword of the Spirit.
• Counteract depression, discouragement, and doubt during the wait with the right-minded strategy of thoughts of whatever is truth, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. Philippians 4:8
• What we are waiting on is too good to hurry!

I hope this is not overwhelming, since it is a lot of material. If you are waiting, then I recommend reading more of Wendy's book that is published by David C Cook company.

David waited 15 years to be come King of Israel; Abraham and Sarah waited 25 years for the son of promise, Issac; Moses waited 40 years for Israel to enter the Promised Land, though he did not get to enter it; Judah waited over 500 years for the promised Messiah to be born.

surely we can wait just a little longer for our prayer to be answered.

LET IT GO

Help me not rush this waiting time, but trust Your timing in my wait.
Jesus, grow my faith more, use me for Your glory.