COURSE CORRECT
I am in what many call a “season of waiting”. I’ve seen different aspects of waiting, and if I can be honest this moment feels very unsure and insecure. The other day I experienced serious discouragement and was more than ready to throw in the towel and give up. Things have looked less and less possible yet I keep hearing that still small voice telling me “don’t give up”.
Truth be told there is a very human part of me that right now feels as though I could be let down. I have felt like this as of lately but I have also learned through life that this feeling is just a signal that at some point my focus drifted from God and shifted to the promise He gave me instead. When faced with such situations, it becomes tempting to perceive the promise as the issue and view God as inconsistent, yet it's our own inconsistency that's truly at play. This arises because we now we have elevated a promise to the status of a lord in our lives, forgetting that a promise, on its own, can never compare to the divine nature of the God who made it.
This is why it is so important to keep the word of God at the forefront. Matthew 6:33 says “But seek ye first the kingdom of God and all his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” The Holy Spirit had to check me on my posture in waiting. He showed me that sometimes the reason we get so discouraged or clouded in our waiting is because we are not seeking FIRST the kingdom, but seeking first the promise. We can unintentionally allow the promise to become the focus and at that point we start getting in God’s way and creating unnecessary issues.
We see this happen with Abraham (who was 99 at the time) and Sarah. God promises them a son and specifically says “I will bring you a son by her (Sarah).” After God tells Abram what He will do for him, He gives him a set of instructions to obey as his part. Well, while they are waiting for this child to be conceived in their already impossible situation, Sarah becomes discouraged and begins to fixate on the impossibilities. Rather than trusting in God's timing, she decides to take matters into her own hands and seeks assistance from Hagar (her servant) to conceive a child, aiming to fulfill the promise herself. By interfering with the situation, she creates an unnecessary situation that would have permanent effects in history.
When God makes a promise to us, it’s never our responsibility to bring it to past. It is our responsibility to obey him in what he requires of us and let him do what only He can do. This is why He tells us to seek FIRST the Kingdom of God and his righteousness.
If you are growing weary in your waiting. I want to encourage you in the Lord. God cannot be unfaithful to His word. Choose to trust Him even when everything looks impossible. Trust that He will ALWAYS do His part and decide to be obedient no matter the circumstances. Whatever you’re waiting on, put it on the altar. Put it in God’s hands and shift your focus back to Him. Meditate on His word, continue to allow Him to work in your heart and your life. Yield yourself to be used however He desires to. Ask yourself these questions:
1. “What else needs my attention while I am waiting?”
2. “What is the last thing God told you to do?”
3. “What is God trying to teach me?”
4. “How can I prepare for what He has promised me?”
Scriptures To Help Refocus You:
PHILIPPIANS 4:8
“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”
PSALM 37:5-7
“Commit thy way unto the LORD; Trust also in him; And he shall bring it to pass. And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, And thy judgment as the noonday. Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: Fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.”
2 TIMOTHY 4:2
“Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine.”
MATTHEW 6:33 (ESV)
“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
ROMANS 12:1-2 (ESV)
“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
ISAIAH 40:31 (ESV)
“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 30:18 (ESV)
“Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.” (ESV)