Ah... The Joys of Waiting on the Lord

A friend of mine told me recently, "God is rarely early, but HE'S NEVER LATE!"

I thanked her for that remarkable reminder. The seasons of my life when I was waiting on the Lord to move and to work have been some of my darkest seasons... and, in hindsight, my brightest. There's no doubt about it - waiting can be painful. It's an art, a science, and a spiritual discipline. It's a time when we feel like God is at the Potter's wheel, crushing us, smoothing us out, and making something new out of us. But we don't know yet what.

When we see God working in others' lives, blessing them with a burgeoning ministry, a wonderful mate, gifted children, great success in their work, a promotion, a new home, and incredible talents and abilities - and it seems like they didn't have to wait for those things from the hand of the Lord - we may feel slighted in comparison. While we are deeply entrenched in a season of waiting, we can't see the light at the end of our tunnel. But I promise, it's there!

In my recent seasons of waiting, the Lord has used several people in my life to remind me of this passage: "Wait for the Lord. Be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord" (Psalm 27:14). The preceding verse is one of my favorites in Scripture, reminding us of where to place our trust: "I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living" (27:13).

Waiting forces us to depend wholly, desperately, upon the Lord. It causes a crisis of faith when we must fall before the Lord in prayer and decide with our minds and hearts to trust in His love and His goodness, even if our emotions are telling us that we've been forsaken. Psalm 138:8 reminds us: "The Lord will accomplish what concerns me; Your lovingkindness, O Lord, is everlasting; Do not forsake the works of Your hands."

The Lord WILL ACCOMPLISH His good and loving plan for you. You can't outwait God - His lovingkindness is EVERLASTING!!! He will be faithful to move in your life. He will not forsake you. And you'll be blessed and transformed by the lessons you have learned through your seasons of waiting on Him.