the waiting game penelope carlevato | penelopecarlevato.com
How often have you been disappointed or discouraged waiting on God to answer your prayers?
answer prayer.
You find yourself in another season of waiting, but this is nothing new! The Bible is filled with stories of people like us, waiting on God to
We have become an impatient society, and it’s hard to wait long for anything, let alone our answers to prayer. Our modern society makes it worse as every new device promises to make life easier and faster. Waiting on God can be difficult, but it should not cause us to doubt or worry that He is not in control. When we wait on God, something happens during this time. God can change us. And the change is to become more like His Son. We can choose to wait instead of running ahead of God. Stay and Be are essential words to add to our vocabulary during this time. We can make a choice … do I take the step of faith and wait on the Lord, or do I stamp my foot and rush ahead and demand answers? When our daughter was just a little girl, she needed a coat, and we had little money. Even though it was an inexpensive purchase, I didn’t want to wait for another week when the funds would be available. And I wanted her to look nice for Sunday School and not have to wear her brother’s
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hand-me-down sweatshirts. My friend brought a bag with some little girl clothes her neighbor was taking to Goodwill. The most beautiful white sweater with ribbons and little white pearls decorating the front was in the bag. And it was precisely my daughter’s size and so much prettier than what I had planned on buying. God taught me that I could depend on Him for all our needs if I waited for His answer. I often remember this story when I am tired of waiting. “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!” (Ephesians 3:20 NIV). Waiting on God also keeps us out of trouble. When we trust Him, we allow Him to work on His schedule and not ours. As humans, we can only see the future from our perspective. God sees it all. His perspective is perfect because He sees the future, and He is perfect. His plans do not run on our schedule, nor do they need His approval. While we only see part of this situation, God knows it is part of a much larger plan. If only we could see the end, we would know it is worth waiting. While waiting for answered prayers, we can learn so much about His character. We are not to sit around and be miserable. We are to be about life and learning from the many lives of Bible characters who also waited on God, some for a very long time. Jesus taught His followers how to pray, and He also taught them to be persistent. Don’t give up and do something stupid. Remember God’s past faithfulness.
