Week Forty-Nine - What Time is It?

Before you start reading, please take a good look at the picture below. It was shared on Facebook and caught my attention. You see, I have been praying about a situation for several years, and this past week God began opening doors for me to start walking through, or as the illustration shows, the time had come to start walking to the other side. 

I'm sure you can relate. We've all had times when we have prayed and prayed about a situation only to hear God tell us to wait - the time is not right. Maybe you are at that point now? Perhaps you have a need or prayer request that is being met with a "wait" or a "not yet."

Here's what I can tell you from my experience. 

First, waiting can be a hard place. The enemy wants you to become unsettled, try to figure things out for yourself, make moves to manipulate the situation or get things going. But if you do that, like Sarah and Rebekkah, you will be moving ahead of God - you won't walk across to the place God has planned for you, but you'll arrive in an area of more turmoil and incredible difficulty.

Waiting also requires wisdom. Wisdom to know the difference between pushing and trusting. Wisdom to keep your heart with all diligence. Wisdom to rest in the promises of God and not lose hope.

Waiting is also a private place. Some prayer requests are very personal. Opening them to the public before God reveals the answer only creates anxiety and pressure. Better to wait with hope and watch for God's hand than to make loads of noise.

When His glory shall be revealed - when God shows His hand, when He begins moving, you rejoice. Joy rises in your heart and you understand that your prayers are being met.

One verse, among many the Lord gave me while I have waited, and am still waiting, is Psalm 119:49, "Remember the word unto thy servant, upon which thou hast caused me to hope." To me, this verse means I can rest my hopes in what God tells me. Through prayer, His Spirit, and His word, He gave me instruction to wait - He confirmed that with promises and encouragement along the way. And every time my heart grew anxious, He spoke gently and confidently to me through His word.  

Psalm 27:13, 14 is another short passage that resonates in my ears as I wait. "I had fainted, unless I had I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord: Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord." To faint means to quit, but I also see it as having a weakness of heart, or to lose heart. Waiting long holds that temptation. But God assures me of His goodness, His purpose, and His instruction again - just wait.

And the promises of God abound while I wait. "No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly" (Psalm 84:11). "Call unto me, and I will answer thee" (Jeremiah 33:3). And many, many others. I rested my hope in the word of God.

So, I waited and prayed, like the woman pleading for crumbs or the man asking for bread at midnight, and God assured me through His word that He heard my prayer. There's a tremendous little portion on persistent prayer in Isaiah 62:6, 7, which reads, "ye that make mention of the Lord, keep not silence, and give him no rest, till he establish, and til he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth." Now that's God's instruction for prayer! Give Him no rest! Keep praying. And when you get the answer to wait - wait. But when it comes to mind again - pray.

It is tempting to grow anxious and begin to think you are a fool for waiting, but this truth remains - God knows our need, and He has a plan. But, unfortunately, we sometimes just have to wait. This is because the hands of the clock aren't yet in the right place.  And remember, God knows our request before we even begin praying for it, He uses it to teach us more about Himself, and He already knows how it will all work out.

Now, as I see the anticipation of the answer to my prayers, I am thankful I have waited. But, I am also willing to continue waiting if need be, and when the hands of the dial are in the exact place, God will lead me across.

Dear friend, if you are in a place of waiting, content yourself. Don't fight against the Lord; just wait. Don't fret and stew; just wait. Don't lose hope; just wait. God will show Himself mighty to deliver in ways you cannot imagine. He rarely works things out the way we devise anyway. His plans are always for a greater purpose than just rescuing us from our situation. We'd be happy with just that, but He moves that we might glorify His name. He answers prayer that we might testify to His greatness. He meets our needs that we might be drawn to trust Him more fully.

So what time is it?  It is time to seek the Lord. Time to trust and wait. It is time to believe that all things truly do work together for good to those who love the Lord and are willing to entrust their lives and desires to His perfect will while they wait.