One of the most essential aspects of Christian living, waiting…our God uses it to work into us patience and endurance. Patience, faith, deep faith, and trust in the Living God to work character into us is very foreign to life in America today. As we allow the Holy Spirit to build them into our lives, we mature and take on the character of Christ as God intends for us to do.
What does it mean to WAIT in a Biblical sense? It means to stay where you are, continue doing what you currently are doing, until you receive further instruction from Him! It involves CHOICE,…TO CONSCIOUSLY AND ACTIVELY WAIT FOR HIS ANSWER!
Why wait? He only gives us clear direction when we wait to receive it. And, it is much easier when you are already walking in the Spirit!
To what purpose? God uses the waiting time to get us in tune/step with Him…our decisions effect others, and have an equal effect on those around us.
And what about delays? Brother Lawrence words…”keep my attention on God,” remind us of the words of the Apostle Paul as he wrote to the Colossian believers, “set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God,” Col 3:2-3. There is a secret to the Christian life that many overlook. Paul, however, understood it and often wrote about it. Jesus practiced it daily and taught it to His disciples. It is the discipline of maintaining a fixed focus on God!
If Peter had practiced this, he would have never noticed the raging waves billowing at his side that night on the stormy Sea of Galilee. But we often do what Peter did, we start out with our spiritual gaze set on Christ, only to have it drift over to the varying circumstances of life. When this happens we fall to the feelings of insecurity, fear, anxiety, anger and more.
The writer of Hebrews also admonishes us to fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, “ Heb 12:2. Again, Paul advises us to fix our eyes on what is seen, nor on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal, “ 2 Cor 4:18.
Focusing on the troubles of Your life only diverts your attention away from God. Apart from Jesus Christ, nothing has the power to heal what is hurt or to correct what has been damaged. Only God has the ability to calm your fears, lay to rest your suffering, and bring peace tin place of frustration and sorrow. When you are listening for God’s voice, how do you know He is the One speaking? Are you hearing some other voice? People say, “I am asking the Lord for direction in my life, but it’s as if I’m hearing two different voices. How do I know that God is the One who is speaking to me, or if Satan is telling me to do this? Or…am I just talking to myself?????
WE’LL TALK ABOUT THAT…NEXT TIME!
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