By: Pastor Jarren Rogers

“If the Lord Jehovah makes us wait, let us do so with our whole hearts; for blessed are all they that wait for Him. He is worth waiting for. The waiting itself is beneficial to us: it tries faith, exercises patience, trains submission, and endears the blessing when it comes. The Lord’s people have always been a waiting people.” – Charles Spurgeon

 We, as people, really hate waiting. Think about it. We don’t like waiting for the subway. We don’t like waiting in traffic. We don’t like waiting on the doctor. We don’t like waiting in the BMV.

Waiting forces us to recognize the loss of control in our circumstances. We can’t do anything about the traffic or the BMV. All we can do is wait.

The same is true whenever we turn our situation over to God. We’ve placed our problems in God’s hands to do with what He likes and it feels good to have that weight lifted off of our shoulders. But now we have to wait.

Sometimes, waiting on God can drive us up a wall. The temptation to regain control and do it our own way intensifies. We begin to doubt and our anxiety grows as we wonder if God will ever act.

Take a look at what Scripture has to say. There is no shortage of verses about waiting on the Lord.

“The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord” (Lamentations 3:25-26).

“But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31).

I wish I had some inspirational piece of advice for those of you who are going through a period of waiting, but all I can tell you to do is wait. You’re going to want to try and spur God on. You’re going to want to rush Him. You might even try and manipulate your circumstances to urge God to act. But, God’s timing is always, always, always perfect.

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens” (Ecclesiastes 3:1).

So just wait. Trust the Lord has it under control. Just because you are waiting doesn’t mean that God isn’t working. His Spirit is working behind the scenes of your circumstance even now. So be still. Don’t take back the reigns. Instead, lie back in confidence of your good and faithful God who is in control.

Parents: Tell your children of a time when you waited on God to answer prayer. Explain to them that God’s timing is always perfect.