I love the way the Holy
Spirit warns us of mishaps before they happen. He leads us to places, which we
never dreamed we would go. He also brings people into our lives that enrich and
nourish us. Paul had such experiences all during his life. In one instance, the
Holy Spirit even warned him that he would visit Rome (Acts
19:21) and that prison and hardships
awaited him there (Acts 20:23).
However, this journey to
Rome took almost three years. Along the way, Paul met many people and he shared
with them the gospel of Christ. He even met a governor (Acts
24:25), whom he almost persuaded to
trust in Jesus! Paul also lived his testimony before shipmates, natives who observed
his snakebite and even to those who threatened his life.
Sometimes, God requires us
to wait on His timing for His promises to come to pass. He seldom tells us the
reason things happen as they do. He just asks us to trust in Him (Proverbs
3:5-6). Often we wonder how the various
circumstances in our lives will ever come together in a meaningful way. God
promises that all things, even the negative things, will turn out for our good (Romans
8:28).
One thing modern human
beings have in common is that we hate to wait! If we would only look beyond the
events in our life to the face of our Savior, He would take the anxiety right
out of the waiting process. We would also stop groaning about the things in our
past. If we live in the present moment, God will meet us right where we are. As
we wait upon the Lord, He will renew our strength. We will rise up on wings
like the eagles and soar high into the spiritual realm of life (Isaiah
40:31).
God has a purpose for
everything that occurs in our life, even if we never realize what it is until
we make it to heaven. The Psalmist exhorts us to wait on the Lord and to be
courageous, because as we do, God shall strengthen our heart (Psalm
27:14). Our
soul waits for the Lord as we put our hope in His Word (Psalm
103:5).
In times of waiting, we can
pause in God’s presence to be refreshed, linger in our memories of His
goodness, remain faithful to His calling on our life and prepare our hearts for
His next set of instructions. All the while, we can rejoice with gladness in
our heart and learn to lean on Him all the more during the barren times or the heated
trials of our life.
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, I do not have
patience when it comes to waiting. I want to arrive right on time and not a
minute too soon. I want to put my dinner in the oven and have it come out on
time. I want to make an appointment and have people show up on time. But, life
does not always happen on my time schedule. Teach me, Lord, to wait on You and
to be content in whatever circumstances You bring to pass in my life.
Thought for the Day:
Surrender
your soul to the blessings of each day as God provides it.
