Wait for the Lord;

Be strong and take heart

And wait for the Lord.

Psalm 27:14

It’s hard to wait when we know what we want. Especially when we know God wants it too. But God knows the end from the beginning. I heard about a guy who recorded the Super Bowl 51 game on TV and before he was able to watch it, he heard who won the game. He decided to watch it anyways seeing as his team won. His perspective be completely different though. When there was a fumble made by the Patriots, he stayed relaxed. When the game was near the end, and it looked like all hope was lost for the Patriots, he wasn't a bit worried. Why? Because he knew how the game ended…he knew the Patriots were going to win! That’s God! He knows how it all ends and we win! So why is it so hard to wait for Him?

Sometimes we want to hurry things up. Sometimes we take shortcuts to help God out a little. Sometimes we don’t want to wait for God’s best and we settle for an immediate reward. That’s what Esau did when he sold his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of soup. Later we see Jacob stealing Esau’s blessing from their father through deception with the help of their mother, Rebekah. Earlier, when the twins were in their mother’s womb, the Lord had spoken to her and told her the older would serve the younger in the future. So it’s possible that Rebekah thought she would help God out by devising a plan for Jacob, the younger, to gain the blessing that rightfully should have gone to Esau, the older. After all, God had told her Esau and Jacob would become two nations and Esau would serve Jacob. But she also knew that Isaac favored Esau and planned to give him the blessing. So instead of faith and waiting on the Lord, she and Jacob took matters into their own hands. They were successful in gaining the blessing but it tore the family apart.

God wants us to wait for Him. His way is best and He does not fail. Sometimes when we think we are helping God, what we are really doing is making things more difficult than they would have been if we had just waited. I know I have been guilty of this with my son. I have a hard time waiting for God to do what only He can do. I think if I help Him a little, maybe He will be able to get my son to return sooner. He will be like, "Thanks Lynn! I needed that!" I’m not trying to say that God won’t use us and that He doesn’t want us to do anything, but when we move ahead without His perspective, we may be making things worse.

It is so important for us to understand that God knows what He is doing and He will let us know how we can cooperate with Him. We know we can pray. We know we can claim His promises. We know we can love them. But only God knows what the best way is to get their attention or to heal their hearts or to break their chains. When we wait for the Lord, we are acting in faith. It may not make waiting easy, but hopefully easier.