Waiting on the Lord

Lamentations 3:24-26 (New International Version)

24 I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him."
25 The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him;
26 it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.

"Patience is a virtue." How often have we heard or said that. We try to instill in our children the ability to have patience. Yet, how often in our life are we in a hurry. We go to the Lord in prayer asking His guidance and blessing. Often, His answer does not come right away. We have to wait for His answer.

How often in the waiting do we act like an impatient child? We fret over whether or not the Lord has heard our prayers. We grumble that He is ignoring our prayers. We despair that He has turned away from us. All because we were to wait.

Many times, we are too impatient with the Lord. We are quick to acknowledge that the Lord does things in His own time, yet are we willing to allow that? Are we content to continue our prayers and doing what we can while we wait on the Lord to provide His answer? What if His answer is "not now"? Are we willing to wait until the time is right? Or do we decide for ourselves that the Lord is working too slow and we should go forward anyways?

Currently, our church congregation is anticipating a change. The lease for the building we have been meeting in is going to be changing and it is time now for our congregation to find a building to purchase. Our pastor has asked the members to keep the church in prayer. We know that the Lord has already chosen where He wants us to be. The Lord knows what neighborhood would be best served by our church being there available to help minister to the needs of that neighborhood community. He has been cautioning us as a congregation to be prepared to make sacrifices. The building the Lord has chosen may not be what some would expect for the church. We all have our own ideas of what we would like to see, but we have to keep in the forefront of our minds and hearts that this is the Lord's church, not ours. The Lord will lead us to where He can best use us to bless the people of the community. The timing of when we will find a building is fully in the Lord's hands. It must be! There is no other way to do it. If the church leaders were to buy a building in the wrong area, we would be able to work in that community but our efforts would not be as effective since we are following "our" whims and not the will of our Lord. So, we wait. We are watchful and asking for prayers that the building the Lord has chosen for us be made known to the leaders.

Psalm 27:13-14 (New International Version)

13 I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.
14 Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.

This passage is of particular significance as it serves to remind us that the Lord's way is good and we only need to wait on Him. During times of change, especially if the change is a very good one, you will have more interference from Satan. Satan hates all that is good. Remembering to be strong and take heart as we wait is important.

Whether it is a prayer for your church or for yourself & your family, the process is always the same. Pray! Do all that you can to prepare yourself for the answer - even humbling yourself to accept answers that may not be what you wold have wanted. Then patiently wait on the Lord to direct your steps and words. It is not always easy to wait on the Lord, but the blessings for doing so are great.

It is my prayer that we all learn to wait for the Lord.

May the Lord's blessings be with thee,
Paula