The Waiting Game (part 3)

What I meant to say in the last post is that God can use waiting to build character. This is just another example of how God can work good out of a bad situation.I don't think the waiting itself does this and felt I might have miscommunicated that. Sorry! Another way God uses waiting for good is…

2. As a testimony to others of hope in Him

Word Study
The word “wait” used in our psalm can mean to:

- Put hope in, Expect, To be eager, To put trust in

This word “wait” is sometimes used synonymously with the words “trust” and “hope.” To wait is to trust. To wait is to hope. An author I recently read said, “To wait for God is the ultimate expression of trust and hope.”

Example of This
The best example of someone who believed and lived this out is found in the life of our Savior Jesus Christ.

I was thinking of His temptation in the wilderness. He was fasting and Satan came to Him and tempted Him with food. He waited. After seeing that that didn’t work he tempted Him in regards to trust in God. "Throw yourself down" and God will save you. He waited. After that didn’t work he tried offering Him all the kingdoms of the world. What does Jesus do? Jesus waits and places His hope and trust in the Lord.

There was a lady I became close friends with several years ago. She has since gone to be with the Lord after losing her battle with cancer. She was a special and awesome lady! She was a great friend to many. She was so full of hope and trust in the Lord. Even to her last minutes on her deathbed she remained hopeful in the Lord. She had to wait upon the Lord and she did it with happiness and joy. Can you wait upon the Lord like that?

I was also thinking about Jesus in the garden the night before His death. Remember that story? Do you remember Him as He was anxiously waiting? He was in prayer and he was deeply disturbed, but He found strength to pray, “Not my will, but Thine.” Reminds me of the of the song:

Not my will, but Thine; not my will, but Thine;
Not my will, but Thy will be done, Lord, in me.
May Thy Spirit divine fill this being of mine.
Not my will, but Thy will be done, Lord, in me.

That is the testimony of someone waiting upon the Lord. Through all of this Jesus testified to trust in the Father. His disciples saw this just by His waiting upon the Lord in different situations. They learned that God is faithful and can help us in the wait.

So, reminder of 2 ways God uses waiting for good in our lives.

1. God uses waiting to build character

2. God uses waiting as a testimony to others of our hope in Him