waiting...

waiting for God's direction is the part of the equation with which most of us have trouble...let's face it...patience is not a part of our culture or upbringing...we're accustomed to instant everything...and we often expect God to work in the same way...

remember when you got your first microwave or your first computer? weren't they amazing? now i get impatient waiting for the microwave to boil water...computer's which are "top of the line" when you buy them...seem to fade to the back of the line in a matter of years...even sooner! and the computer that once seemed so fast...is now being rejected for one newer and faster...

but like it or not, God often wants us to wait...one of the many lessons we learn from the old testament is that waiting is how God operates sometimes...moses was selected from childhood to save the israelites...but he was thrown out of egypt and spent forty years in a pasture with sheep before God called him into action...the nation of israel waited for forty years to see the promised land...God could have done it differently...they could have taken a direct path...cleared by God...but God made the nation of israel wait...likewise...we usually have to wait when we are seeking God's purpose or His direction for our lives...

many old testament verses tell us to wait on the Lord...
psalm 25:5 says, "on You i wait all the day."
psalm 27:14 says, "don't be impatient. wait for the Lord...yes, wait and He will help you."
and i love psalm 62:5..."my soul, wait silently for God alone." i can just picture the psalmist reminding his soul to wait...

looking back at different times in my life...the waiting i endured at times while watching (what i thought) were my dreams dying away...God had specifically closed doors in my life...but i didn't want that door closed...i didn't want specific doors closed because it was all i knew...to prevent it from closing...i kept a couple of fingers between the doorjamb and the door...

as long as i held on to my past...i was unable to move down the hallway to the door God had waiting for me...by keeping my fingers in the doorway, i was held in that dark place...crying to God rather than reaching our for the new plan He had for my life...

i believe that while we wait for God's answer...perhaps even impatiently...He wants us to keep doing the best we can...we shouldn't give up on life and lie down...waiting for a lightning bolt to guide us...

so we wait...waiting for God's direction and purpose in our lives...His answer to our requests for guidance...when we know God...have an attitude that involves Him in every aspect of our lives...ask for specific direction...and wait for the answer...we can trust that eventually His answer will come...