The Discipline of Waiting

I have been working at a church plant project since the beginning of this year. I have made considerable progress so far but I have had to go back to the drawing board several times as I face unanticipated hurdles. 

Last week on Monday just before I woke up the Lord reminded me through a dream that He is deeply concerned with what I am doing. I saw my self writing with my fingers on an earthen wall and as I did I remembered Isaiah 49:16,

 “See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Your walls are continually before Me.” 

  

As I reflected on this I realized that God sometimes puts us in His waiting list not because He doesn’t approve what we want to do but because there are things He is working in and around us. The accomplishment of His will requires a convergence of several things such as the idea we have, resources, time and people.  While the idea depends entirely on us and our response to Him, timing is critical to Him as He uses it to mature the idea and also avail and apportion resources.

 The people factor is the most critical because as the saying goes, “if you want to walk fast walk alone but if you want to go far take others with you.” God is not only working in you but also in those around you and He wants you to be patient as He works in all the interested parties to bring such an agreement in regard to the purpose, timing and means or methods of accomplishing His will. It is here where we are tested most since as the primary stakeholders you and I sleep and dream the vision God has given us and often wonder why others cannot see it the way we do.

 To be honest it is really irritating, yet as believers we must remind ourselves always that we serve for and at His pleasure. We do his bidding not our own. Although we wish that things could roll out a bit faster, waiting is ultimately part of Gods grand plan to achieve the utmost for the highest good.  We can never appreciate the wisdom of waiting when we focus on the now because it’s always a hindsight. In the counsel of Isaiah 40:31,

 

“…those who wait on 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.

 

I believe those who wait on the LORD not only renew their strength to face their obstacles but also later look back and say an emphatic ‘Thank you Jesus.’

According to God’s wisdom and foreknowledge, delay doesn’t mean denial, in fact delay to Him is redemptive. Isaiah 49:23 gives us this assurance, 

“Then you will know that I am the LORD, For they shall not be ashamed who wait for Me."

As I settled to take time and pray, I ended up in worship. One of the songs that really struck a chord in my heart in this moment was, Jesus, all for Jesus by Robin Mark. In the lyrics of this song Mark says, 

Jesus, all for Jesus… All I am and have and ever hope to be. All of my ambitions, hopes and plans I surrender these into Your hands…. For it's only in Your will that I am free….

The secret of waiting patiently on God is surrender to Him and to His plans. To wait is to allow His will for us to unfold without our unsolicited advice or interference. It is to rest on the fact that dreams surrendered to Him cannot die but in His time will grow and flourish far beyond our wildest imaginations. 

Consider the following scriptures:

Psalm 62:5 My soul, wait silently for God alone….

Psalm 37:7 Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him….

Psalm 130:5-6 I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, And in His word I do hope.  ⁶ My soul waits for the Lord More than those who watch for the morning -- Yes, more than those who watch for the morning.

Wait on the LORD; Be of good courage…Wait, I say, on the LORD!

Psalm 27:14

Weighty Matters

In life there are matters that carry weight and thus deserve priority.  Jesus said that justice, mercy and faith are weightier matters that deserve prominence in our quest to do His will. He cautioned religious leaders from substituting justice, mercy and faith for works which though important may not reflect an equally aligned inner spiritual disposition. He was saying there’s need of congruence between our outward actions and our inner spiritual disposition.  He said,

 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. (Matthew 23:23)

          Justice, mercy and faith are weighty matters because they cannot be done casually or routinely. To reflect justice, mercy and faith requires our emotional entanglement, a crisis on our personal opinion and what is Gods will for us in relation to others. If the church as His body lacks justice, mercy and faith then its an empty shell filled with only rituals and  showmanship but little depth of character. It’s a faceless church, a false religion that lacks God’s power because it defies the very principles upon which it’s established.

      

          In such a church the fear of God is foreign, there may be many solemn assemblies, great enthusiastic songs, with melodious instruments and emotional outbursts, yet the meetings are hollow. Though everything is beautifully set, the position of the Chief Guest remains conspicuously vacant because He is uninvited or even locked outside. It is virtually impossible to practice justice, mercy and faith if we do not honor the God of justice, mercy and faith. Its interesting that the Hebrew word for honor has the connotation of weight or literally taken 'to be heavy,' reflecting the concept of weight that Jesus raises in Matthew 23:23 to the pharisees and the scribes. 

 

         In other words justice, mercy and faith are heavy matters that really test how much weight the fear or honor of God carries in our lives. The deficiency of these three breeds deception in the pulpit and indifference in the pews. It introduces a different and confusing standard that is foreign to God’s word as Jeremiah outlines,  To crush under one's feet All the prisoners of the earth, To turn aside the justice due a man Before the face of the Most High, Or subvert a man in his cause -- The Lord does not approve. (Lam 3:34-36)