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Waiting on God is hard. Why?
by Compelling Truth
(Compellingtruth.org is a ministry of GOTQUESTIONS.ORG)
Waiting on someone else and that person's timing is not part of our human nature. We live in time and want things to happen in accordance with our view of the right timing. God, on the other hand, lives outside time and, because of that, He can see when the perfect timing is for every event. And He generally doesn't tell us why the best timing is best. As a result, it is often difficult to wait for God to do things when He knows is best.
Because He is outside time, God's timing is usually not the same as ours. For example, Israel had been praying for the Messiah to come for years before He did. As Galatians 4:4 says, "But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son …" Looking back on events, we can see how the time of Jesus' coming was better when He did come than at any time beforehand—how widespread the Greek language was, the peacefulness in the Roman Empire, the relative ease of travel because of the Roman roads, etc. But man could not see this previously, and waiting was difficult.
As a matter of fact, it could be argued that waiting on God is not just difficult, it is impossible in our own strength. But the benefits gained by waiting on God are tremendous. Isaiah 40:31 says, "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." Waiting on God results in us being strengthened. Philippians 4:6–7 says, "do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Rather than worrying about things, we can put all our concerns in God's hand and wait on Him. Then we will experience His peace, which passes all understanding.
This is because of His sovereignty, which is His total control over all creation and circumstance at every time. When we rest in the assurance of His sovereignty, we don't have to be concerned about how things are going to happen and turn out. As Paul said in Romans 8:28, "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." Christians can wait on the Lord in the assurance that He will work things out for our good.
Because He is outside time, God's timing is usually not the same as ours. For example, Israel had been praying for the Messiah to come for years before He did. As Galatians 4:4 says, "But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son …" Looking back on events, we can see how the time of Jesus' coming was better when He did come than at any time beforehand—how widespread the Greek language was, the peacefulness in the Roman Empire, the relative ease of travel because of the Roman roads, etc. But man could not see this previously, and waiting was difficult.
As a matter of fact, it could be argued that waiting on God is not just difficult, it is impossible in our own strength. But the benefits gained by waiting on God are tremendous. Isaiah 40:31 says, "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." Waiting on God results in us being strengthened. Philippians 4:6–7 says, "do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Rather than worrying about things, we can put all our concerns in God's hand and wait on Him. Then we will experience His peace, which passes all understanding.
This is because of His sovereignty, which is His total control over all creation and circumstance at every time. When we rest in the assurance of His sovereignty, we don't have to be concerned about how things are going to happen and turn out. As Paul said in Romans 8:28, "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." Christians can wait on the Lord in the assurance that He will work things out for our good.
Beryl367
Whenever I hear people talking about " the sovereignty of God" I remember chapters 38-40 of Job, where God answers Job from the whirlwind and talks about His omnipotence. I know God is all powerful, but when people say that He's "in complete control", well He is but He allows people to violate His commands. So people hear that phrase "God is in control" and draw some very wrong conclusions. Reading Job over and over for a while....
LavenderC
I think God is able to be in complete control over anything He wants to have control over. It seems He does not give us orders of what we have to do each day. If we want Him to be involved in what we plan to do, He will be involved if we ask Him to through prayers. There is a church group (denomination) that teaches that God is not involved at all in what is happening or will happen in what humans are doing. We do whatever we do on our own, meaning He has no part in our actions and decisions, and we don't ask Him to do anything. I don't remember which group that is but I disagree. God knows what is happening and what will happen but He does not force us to do certain things unless we ask Him to be involved and show us what we should do. A lot of our understanding about God and interactions with Him are based on our faith. For instance, with faith, we believe God God is good and has our best interest. And with faith, we believe He prepares a nice place after death for us where we will be with Him. In order to communicate with God, we need to understand the Bible. We need to know how, and the Bible tells us how.
Beryl367
Yes, it all comes back to God's Word.
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Believe in the light while you have the light, so that you may become children of light. John 12:36, NIV
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According to His riches in glory refers to a biblical promise found in Philippians 4:19, which states that God will supply all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus. This verse emphasizes God's provision and generosity towards believers.
