When God Says, "Wait"

"Wait on the Lord, be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord." (Psalm 27:14)

You brought your request before the Lord; you prayed the prayer and meant every word with all your heart. Now the waiting begins. You waited and waited.

After waiting for what seems enough time for God to answer your prayer, you devise a logical plan, a plan you have convinced yourself that God ordained. The problem: He did not. By taking matters into your own hands, you have a high probability of experiencing painful results, just as Abram and Sarai (Abraham and Sarah). After waiting ten years for God’s promised son (Genesis 16), Sarai decided to implement Plan B, a plan of her unique design. Because of her foolish decision and Abram’s choice to heed her instead of God, grievous consequences followed.

Waiting on God is not a passive but active action. The wait-mode person actively trusts God, acutely aware of His activity, and prays until His perfect timing brings the long-awaited answer. Refrain from the temptation to dismiss God’s response because it was not to your liking nor manipulate matters to settle for what seems good; that action always overshadows God's best.

Waiting on God requires dedication, courage, steadfastness, faith, and trust in Him. Although she initially settled for what seemed right by asking Abram to take her handmaid as a wife to bear her son, God was gracious. At the age of ninety, the once-barren Sarah gave birth to God’s promised son; Isaac’s name means laughter. God’s timing is often beyond our understanding but waiting on Him always brings better than good; wait for His best.