"...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
Waiting. Patience. Two words that the American culture, and society are not very well acquainted with. Not any more at least. At one point, life wasn't so fast paced, or at least that is what my parents have told me. I've never known a time in my life that patience was really necessary. We have little boxes that we stick food in and 4 minutes later, something that should have taken 45 minutes, is now ready. It's not as good, but, what do we care? We have food in one tenth of the time.
We have a generation growing up who have always had instant access to any kind of information they could ever hope to come across. On a computer first, but now, in their pockets, on their smart phones. It is hard sometimes, okay, who am I kidding? It's hard all the time, to understand that with God, time frames don't really matter that much. We are always looking to meet a deadline, or accomplish a goal. We are running into time constraints and restrictions, and we are always in a hurry, hurry, hurry, to get to the next thing that we have to do.
I am absolutely 100% grateful that I grew up in America. I am so thankful that I grew up in a nation that allowed me to go to church and worship my Savior without restrictions. I know there are millions of believers who do not have the same luxury afforded them, that I have in my freedom of religion. I do however, wish that America would slow down. Allow people to live their lives. Allow people to take time. It would absolutely make living as a Christian much easier. And maybe that's why we are here. Maybe there is a group of young people in America, who are going to rise up and teach people the art of waiting. The art of patience. You see, in a microwave society and a, get whatever you want right NOW society, waiting, and patience are not viewed as good things. This translates to impatient, upset, angry, irritable Christ followers, who don't understand the fact that our timeline doesn't work exactly how Jesus' time frame works.
So, what does this have to do with you? Everything, really. Most of you that read this, know the call that Jesus has placed on your life. You know the direction in which you are supposed to be headed. You feel like you understand exactly how to get there, but the process is taking FOR-EV-VER. You are not alone. I know plenty of people who are absolutely in love with Jesus, and who follow Him with everything that they have, but feel as though they are stuck in a situation. I actually happen to be one of those people. "God! I thought You said I was going to be in full time ministry! I thought You said that I would be traveling, and speaking places!" And He did. He just never told me when. I think God leaves time frames open for a very important reason. If we knew when He would move, and when He would make the other shoe drop, we would be ABSOLUTELY useless for the Kingdom until that appointed time. God is very much a God of the now. If He were to give everyone their ultimate future today, nothing would get done today.
You see, God has things planned out along the path to our future, that must be accomplished. Just because you haven't walked into your full on destiny, does not mean that today is a throw away. Listen, Jesus knew exactly who He was at 12 years old. He spent 18 years training to become the Savior. Some of us have known our calling for a few years, but we have been fighting the entire time to try and push the process along. We don't take the time to actually sit back, and ask God, "What is the purpose of this process right now?"
Last night I heard Jimmy Witcher say something at Trinity Fellowship Church in Amarillo that absolutely rocked my world. "If you are praying for deliverance from a situation, and you have not been delivered, it's because God has you there on purpose." God has you where you are right now for a purpose. It's time that we start embracing the process. It's time that we start allowing God to mold us in our waiting times. Then, we will have our strength renewed. We will run and not grow weary, walk and not faint.
Why do sports teams have practice? Our high schools are about to begin two-a-days. It's not because the coaches hate them, and what the worst for their lives, so they put them out there in 100 degree heat and make them sweat all day long. The reason that they have two-a-days, is so they can prepare for the ultimate goal which is game day. The pain, and the frustration, and the blood, sweat, and tears, will pay off when they get out on the field under those Friday night lights. Imagine if a coach cancelled 2 a days, and cancelled practices, and just told the players that they were supposed to just go out there and wing it on Friday and hope for the best? First of all, this would be the worst coach of all time. Second, this would be the single most atrocious football team of all time. Absolutely no one would be prepared for anything!
Sometimes, God has to put us through spiritual two-a-days, so that we can prepare for the ultimate plan. If we haven't prepared for something, then nine times out of ten it will fall flat. We are, most of us, in spiritual training camp right now. We are getting stronger, faster, smarter. This process is necessary, because without it, we will surely fail. It's time that we start allowing God to mold, form, and shape us into who He wants, instead of being so absolutely frustrated by the process and questioning God at every twist and turn about timing.
I hung out at my worship pastor's house last Sunday evening. They have 2 little boys, and these kids think I am the greatest thing in the world. Which is awesome! I was playing Mario Brothers with their older boy, and the younger one kept asking if I would go in the back yard with him to look at their pet turtle. I kept telling him, "Give me just a little bit longer buddy." Thirty seconds later, he would ask again. And we did this interaction about 15 times, and I couldn't help but start to get tired of answering the question. Sometimes, I feel like we are the little kid asking God, "Well is it time yet?" Every. Single. Day. Over. And. Over. And. Over. Thinking that eventually we will wear Him down and He'll have to give us what we want.
I believe firmly, that God wants to gift us all patience, and a gift of waiting. Not waiting, and doing nothing, but waiting with purpose. Doing whatever it is that He is calling us to do in the waiting period. Ask anyone who has ever been in athletics. The games aren't the hard part. Practice is the hard part. That's where conditioning comes into play. That's where lifting weights comes in to play. Games are a breeze compared to practice! When you're in training camp or two-a-days, there is literally nothing more exciting for you, that getting to the end of training camp or two-a-days. You can't wait until it gets a little easier. Friday night is game night. Monday through Thursday is where the real work is put in.
Let's wait with purpose. Let's be intentional with our preparation and preparedness as we wait for our future to come. Let us not despise the purpose. Let us embrace purpose. Remember, if you've called for deliverance, and it hasn't come yet, most of the time, it's because God has you there on purpose. Allow Him to work. Allow Him to form, mold, and shape you. You will be better for it on the other side.
