Waiting on God

by Sonya C. Triggs

Sometimes it seems we have to wait on God for so long. We know God has made us certain promises. Or we’ve read about how He answers prayers in the Bible. And, while that seems well and good, in our case, and in our specific instance, He just doesn’t seem to be coming through. Which always brings me to the question – Why does God make us wait so long? Doesn’t the Bible promise that He will answer us when we call?

As I often contemplate these questions, I spend a lot of times asking them of God. And studying His word. Because, if you’re anything like me, you like for things to make sense. After all, God is not man, that He should lie, right? And Jesus is not the author of confusion. So why does it seem so confusing sometimes?

Three people in the Bible comfort me in my times of deepest despair and greatest impatience: the lame man who laid by the pool at Bethesda, the woman with the issue of blood and King David himself (who I love for so many reasons – his imperfection, but his perfect heart towards God being one)). Remember the lame man by the pool of Bethesda (his story can be found in John 5:2 – 5:13)? He had been lame his entire life – for 38 years – when Jesus found him and healed him. And the woman with the issue of blood (Matthew 9:20-22)? She’d had her disease for 12 long years before Jesus healed her. And, finally, King David. David had been promised by God, as a youth, that he would be made of king of Israel. But he went through years of persecution by Saul, running away from him, being rejected – before he saw the promise of God come to fruition.

Which brings me back to my original question – why does God make us wait? Think about what happened in the above instances. The man by the pool in Behesda – he had been lame his entire life. And everyone who knew him identified him by his illness – the Bible doesn’t even give the man a name! He was simply referred to as the lame man by the pool. When Jesus healed him – everybody knew about it. His friends, his family, the city, everybody. I like to believe that, in this instance, he had to wait on God so that God could show everybody just who He was – a God who could heal – no matter what! And the woman with the issue of blood? She had suffered twelve long years with her infirmities. Yet she approached Jesus humbly and gratefully – thinking, if I can just touch the hem of his garment, I will be made whole. And she was. How often do we approach God with that kind of humility? Perhaps she can serve as a model to us of how God can work in a life that is submitted and yielded to Him. And King David? Yes – God had promised him he would be made king when he was a youth – but think about it: how could David have realistically led Israel as a teenager? Those years of running away from Saul, facing persecution and fighting battles turned David into a mighty man of God! He became a warrior – strong, divinely-led and a leader of men during those long years of running away. He also learned to trust God implicitly – he prayed before he did anything and though he had ample opportunity to slay Saul, he never did. He was so bound up with God that he knew it was wrong to ever touch God’s anointed. How many of us can trust God in the middle of such dark and dismaying circumstances?

So what can we learn from these stories? That God does answer promises – but in His own time – not ours! And that we could all learn a lesson from each of these very real people. From the blind man we can learn perseverance. From the woman with the issue of blood, we can learn humility and from King David we can learn to trust God no…..matter…..what!

And, in your darkest hour, remember this:

Isa 40:31 but they that wait for Jehovah shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; they shall walk, and not faint. (ASV)

In other words, waiting for the Lord makes you strong! He will renew your strength and you will do all that He has called you to do - In His Own Time.

So, continue to wait for God And you will be blessed.