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God's Waiting Room: Part I


"Then the word of the Lord came to him: 'This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.'...Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness." -Gen 15:4&6

 "Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him." -Gen 21:5

 Have you ever had to wait for something you really wanted? A job, house, a child? Anyone who has had to wait for anything earnestly desired will know how difficult and draining the waiting period can be. Whenever I am waiting for anything, time seems to travel at a much slower rate. The hours, weeks, and months drag on and on and it seems the thing will never come. In reality, however, time is traveling at the exact same rate as before. Outside circumstances did not change but my inward reality did. I now have an expectation for something/someone to come and it is that desire that drives my impatience. Ecclesiastes 3:1 tells us that "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven." Just as our world experiences different seasons (Winter, Summer, Fall, and Spring) throughout the year, so the life of the Christian man/woman does as well. Our God takes us through different seasons and each one offers us an opportunity to grow as Christ followers and experience a different side of our Heavenly Father. One of the seasons that any committed follower of Jesus will encounter is a waiting season. Though none of us really enjoy waiting (sure, there are exceptions to this), it is important that when we go through this season, we learn and apply the lessons that God is teaching us in it. The Scriptures say quite a bit about waiting (i.e. read the Psalms) and it is to our best advantage to explore this topic a bit more. I can think of no better Bible character that exemplifies the art of waiting on God better than the father of faith...Abraham. 
Give me just a second...actually make that 25 years.
Everyone knows Abraham to be the Father of Faith. We sing songs about him in Sunday school, we've heard a myriad of sermons about his willingness to sacrifice Isaac, but have you ever thought about what Abraham must have felt during his waiting season? Imagine for a minute this great man (in every sense of the word). A man who is a strong leader, has riches beyond measure, runs in pretty important circles (i.e. with royalty), who pretty much seems to have the perfect life. I can imagine living during that time and looking at him with pure admiration this. He seems to have it all together until you look closer and discover that the thing he wants the most is the one he can't have...at least yet. Abraham's wealth, influence, authority, and blessings fail to compare in his desire for a child. As it stands, his lineage will end with him. And then comes the day, when Abraham finally comes to God and points out the lack in his life. Immediately something miraculous happens: God promises Abram a son! Imagine the joy he must have felt in that moment. The pure ecstasy knowing that his prayer was heard and answered. But something else happened shortly thereafter, the weeks, months, and years went by with no sign of the promise...Sarah was not pregnant. Imagine the thoughts that must have been running through Abraham's head: "Did I really hear God say that to me?" "Why is this taking so long?" "Maybe God is waiting for me to make this happen!" Endless questions must have run through his head. Yet, in spite of the time, doubts, and mistakes (hello, Ishmael!) along the way, Abraham learned the hard lesson we all must embrace: how to patiently wait on God.
Why the Wait?
The questions is why does God take us through waiting seasons. Is He not Omnipotent? Does God not control time and space? Why then make His children wait for the things He plans to give them anyways. Could He not simply give ______ (fill in the blank for you) to me now? The answer to all of these questions is a resounding yes! God is indeed Omnipotent, He can do anything He wants whenever He wants. But like any good parent, God knows that one of the keys to raising successful and mature children is to mold their character. That is one of the main reasons that many times God allows us to wait for His blessings: spiritual maturity that produces Christ-likeness. There are a total of five main reasons why God has us go through waiting seasons. Let's explore each of them a bit more. 
Purified through fire. 
Before Abraham could become the Father of Faith, his own faith must first be tested. Waiting is one of the tests that faith must invariably pass through. The waiting period purifies our faith hence making it stronger. When God initially gives us a word/promise, faith immediately springs up in our hearts. This is what the apostle Paul wrote in Romans 10:17 "So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ." Though faith is stirred in us when we hear the rhema of God, the element of time is what makes faith grow strong (so long as we endure the season). It is very easy for us to believe God (even for the impossible) the minute He gives us a promise, but not so much when the months and years go by with no sign of its fruition. Abraham experienced this and so will you and I in our lives. God allowed Abraham to wait for twenty-five years all the while waiting Himself for Abraham's faith to grow stronger. (And yes, just as we wait for the promises of God, God Himself also waits for us!) The more Abraham waited on God, the stronger his faith grew which was the very thing that enabled him to become the Father of Faith. Likewise in our lives. Our waiting for the promises of God exercises our "faith muscles" thereby strengthening them. If we want our faith to grow stronger...the answer is simple, we must learn to wait on God and His timing. 


Next time on...Dirty Bible, Clean Heart

 There are so many things that God works in us through seasons of waiting. And though none of us really enjoy the wait, this season provides us the opportunity to change within and know our Father in a deeper and more intimate way. A great Scripture to meditate during our waiting season is Habakkuk 2:3 which says the following."This vision is for a future time. It describes the end, and it will be fulfilled. If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently, for it will surely take place. It will not be delayed." Stick around for part II next time where we will break down the remaining four reasons why God has us wait. Remember this week that the Lord really loves you and your waiting is never in vain!





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