Waiting

The first question I want to ask you is "What are you waiting for?"

There must be something you are waiting for. We are always waiting for something. Think about it... Is it forgiveness? A new job? To fall in love? To get engaged? To get married? A new friend? A new item? A restored relationship? A new opportunity? A new holiday? To have a child? What do you want? It could be any number of things. Now I want to ask you again, "What are you waiting for?" Have you got something in mind? Ok read on. 

Waiting is one thing we all don't always like but it's also the one thing that helps us more than we realise. If we got everything straight away, where would our appreciation be? Sometimes it's best if we don't get the things we are waiting for at all. You hear a lot of stories of people whose lives didn't turn out the way they imagined and they are thankful for that because it turned out even better. Sometimes waiting is a gift. Sometimes it feels tiresome. 

I have heard a lot of people say that God feels silent when they are waiting for something. They pray and they don't feel like God is there. It reminds me of the phrase, "the teacher is always silent during the test." Waiting is a test of our faith. At the same time, you can't sit back and do nothing and say "I'm waiting for God." Yes you are waiting and praying for something and God is always listening but you must also think about the things you need to do too. 

There is a reason why you are waiting. Maybe there is something you need to learn before you can receive all that God has for you. Maybe there is something you need to change about yourself. Maybe what you are waiting for will hurt or damage you. Maybe there is something better than what you are waiting for. We don't know the plans God has for us but we trust in His plan for our lives. 

Waiting is ultimately one of the most special things. No I didn't type that wrong. It is special. We don't realise how much it helps us and it certainly doesn't feel great at the time but the outcome of waiting is always worth the wait. Just because you are waiting for something and it hasn't happened yet does not mean it's not going to happen. Just because you are waiting for something doesn't mean it's going to happen. 

That sounds great doesn't it, it could happen, it could not happen, I guess it really doesn't sound great... What is the purpose of waiting? There it is. That is the ultimate question. Waiting is a test of our faith. It's easy to become disheartened when we are waiting for something. It's easy to believe God has left us. That's easy when we are putting everything into something we are waiting for instead of God. God's still there but are we focusing on Him or what we are waiting for? 

At the same time you could be waiting around and God's providing you with opportunities you don't even realise because you are so focused on what you are waiting for. In the meantime God is trying to give you what you are waiting for but you don't see it. If you are waiting for something to find you it wont, you also have to put yourself out there. 

Wait but don't rush. Don't push the waiting process because sometimes you need that wait more than you know. We have got to serve God while we wait. It's not just a case of pray and wait and do nothing. It's a case of pray, wait, focus on God and do. You can't push things to happen, everything happens in God's time not ours. Do you know why it happens in God's time and not ours? It's because if it happened in our time we would have everything right away but we would learn nothing. 

Sit back, grab your popcorn or whatever you like, get comfortable and wait. Enjoy this season of waiting because you know that your next season is reaping what God has for you. What are you focusing on? God wants to draw us closer to Him, we need Him in our lives. We need to be thinking more about God than what we are waiting for. Notice I didn't say, put your feet up! There are still things you need to do while you wait. It's not a passive waiting it's an active waiting. 

If we ask God for an opportunity and then we just sit back. Yay, God's going to give me that opportunity I have prayed about. I will just get on with my life. I won't try anything different, I will just sit here, God's got it and I'm just waiting for Him. It's been 2 months now and nothing has happened. Why when I am praying, does God feel silent? Why isn't God helping me? Has He left me? I keep praying and praying and why hasn't it happened? I haven't done anything because God's going to do everything. This is an example of the focus being on what we are waiting for and everything else revolving around it. That's a bit of what it is like isn't it? No just stop! God first.

I asked you two important questions:

"What are you waiting for?" and "What are you focusing on?"

Remember just because it feels like God is silent does not mean He is not there. Think about where your focus is. Is it on our relationship with God or the thing we are waiting for? God knows the difference.

I pray that God gives you what you are waiting for or that you see what else God has planned. 

Until I write again,

Wait patiently :).

Nicola Hill