Nougat 19

Sometimes, we read God’s Word, and we pat ourselves on the back, because we’ve done good. Then it sinks in and we realize that there’s actually room for lots of improvement. Consider Today’s Holy Nougat

“The Lord is good to those who depend on him, to those who search for him. So it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the Lord.” ‭‭Lamentations‬ ‭3‬:‭25‬-‭26‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Waiting (Im)Patiently

The movie, ’Are We There Yet’, featured two children on a road trip with their mom’s fiancé. They face multiple trials, some accidentally, many orchestrated, but it’s all underscored by the desire to reach their destination (not necessarily in tact). I believe that sometimes our relationship with God takes on ‘Are we there yet?’ proportions, with our impatience creating trials that might not have come without our trying to rule our own lives.

Let’s look at the journey from Egypt to the Land of Promise, for example. Moses asked for a 3-day worship pass, though it’s believed that it could (should) have been a 40-day journey. But when they’d left the land of enslavement, the Children of Israel had not yet embraced their freedom mentally. To some extent their minds were still enslaved. There was so much more work to be done in them. The lesson set them back by 40 years! In any language, that’s a mighty long time.

Many of us read about their disobedience and struggles, and scoff at their behavior; yet, when faced with a test of our own patience levels, discover that there’s need for lots more work in us. Those are the moments when we discover whether we’re truly depending on God, or on our own understanding.

I remember once I internalized a biblical promise from the Lord. The issue was, I was claiming it as my reality, but had not consulted the Lord regarding the timing (whether it should be fulfilled in 3 days, 40 days, or 40 years), nor had I checked to see whether it was God’s will for my life at that time or at all. Imagine when I set out on my ‘journey’, with my ongoing ‘Are we there yet’ attitude, wondering why God hadn’t come through in 3 hours as I’d expected.

Siblings, God is not just a miracle-distributing ATM (automated withdrawal system), where we simply insert a half-hearted prayer and our miracle comes out. Sometimes, we need to wait on God’s timing. Perhaps the delay is to transform our minds because we’re still operating as ones whose minds have not been renewed. Thus, despite the ‘urgency’ of our need, we aren’t ready to live in the fullness of what God has in store for us.

Just because God promised something, it doesn’t mean that it is for this time or season. We also have to learn to wait on God. And, maybe if the wait seems longer than God’s promised, it is for us to also inquire whether we are the block to our own deliverance. Let’s ensure that it is God Whom we seek, and that what we seek will realize God’s glory, as our motives are suspect sometimes. In the meantime, let’s water our wait with our praise.

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May all we seek be found in Christ