Image Credit
Waiting on God
"Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.
He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.
Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:
But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint". Isaiah 40:28-30
The biblical account of Jacob is a very good example of patience. He waited and worked for seven years to marry Rachel. After he was tricked into marrying Leah he agreed with Laban to work seven more years in order to marry Rachel. Instead of leaving after those 14 years Laban, (Rachel's father) did not want them to leave because everything that Jacob did for him prospered, and Laben knew this and worked out wages for Jacob in order to keep Jacob working for him. Finally, after 20 years, Jacob decided that it was time to take his family and build his own life. (Genesis 31:38)
Twenty years is a long time to wait, but God had bigger plans for Jacob and his descendants that reached all the way back to Abraham. Jacobs's sons would become the 12 houses in Isreal.
Joseph, Jacobs son, was next in line for God's greater plan.
God plans things well in advance because the promise that God made to Abraham spanned three generations before Joseph entered into the land of Egypt, and all of Jacobs descendants would serve in slavery in Egypt until God used Moses to set them free and lead them into the promised land.
Image Credit
Genesis 15:13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;
Every single person that God used within the scriptures had to wait on occasion and sometimes for many years for promises to come to pass.
Abraham waited until he was 100 years old for his promised son, "Isaac."
Jacob received a promise from God much Like his grandfather Abraham.
"And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.
And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not." Genesis 28:14-16
Not only did Jacob wait for natural promises, but he also waited for the same spiritual promises from God. Both he and Abraham saw these promises from afar off, and Abraham saw the begining fulfilled with the birth of Isaac. Jacob saw the beginning of the promises with the birth of his twelve sons, whom he blessed, knowing that they were the start of a greater promise. (Genesis 49)
"These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth." Hebrews 11:13
Jacob's son Joseph, was given marvelous dreams about his future when he was a young boy. Even after he was sold into slavery, worked as a servant, and was imprisoned, Joseph never lost faith. He kept waiting, and he saw those promises fulfilled after many years.
Every person within the scriptures had occasions where they had to wait to see promises come to pass. Not only did God have greater plans for them, but He also had future plans that would unfold in time, even plans that involved their descendants after them. Some spent time imprisoned, others fled for their lives and waited in hiding, like David when he fled from King Saul.
The direct reason why we all go through times of waiting is covered by the Apostle Paul.
**Romans 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
Romans 5:2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
Romans 5:3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;
And patience, experience; and experience, hope: Romans 5:4
In times of difficulty, and times when we might feel alone, we might even think that our prayers are going unanswered, but look at all of the things that trials and tribulations add to us.
✞ Patience
✞ Experience
✞ Hope
God always sees the bigger picture. He knows when we are going through times of difficulty. If we keep our eyes on Him and stand strong in the faith, even when promises seem afar off.
No matter what you might be dealing with today, or praying for today remember that God knows every detail, even things that go far beyond our own lives.
"Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD." Psalms 27:14
Thank you for this post. I have been trying to understand the meaning of "waiting on the Lord" for some years now and have gained a few snippets of understanding. This is why this post caught my attention.
I believe our Heavenly Father is eager to bless us but at times we need to learn something from Him.
Very true @ironshield. And Amen!
Awesome article. I was telling you that in chat too, but the chat is not working right now. I'm trying to reload it and nothing is happening.
Thank you doule, God bless!
Congratulations @livingwaters! You have completed some achievement on Steemit and have been rewarded with new badge(s) :
Click on any badge to view your own Board of Honor on SteemitBoard.
For more information about SteemitBoard, click here
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word
STOPExcellent post livingwaters! The waiting and staying in faith while we wait, is often the hardest part. But the Lord knows we're like little children, lol, squirming around in the back of the car crying "Are we there yet?"
Thank you @livingwaters for this post, reminding me to keep our eyes on Jesus while we wait.
Thank you @hope777, amen, you're posts are excellent reminders too! God bless.
God works in mysterious ways, and sometimes we don't even understand, however, his love will always be shown somehow in someway! Very nice post. Voted up and followed.
Thank you @madrussian, and Amen! Followed you back. :)
Congrats! You're a winner of @msg768's daily giveaway #68. To find out more, click HERE.