Seasons of Life - Part 3

Waiting and Winning

ONE WAY God answers prayers is to tell us to wait. So, we wait nine months for a baby to mature and emerge from the mother.

If the baby comes before term, we say it's premature.

THEN, we wait for the baby to grow. We wait as the child passes through elementary and high school, post-secondary, and finally, to become an adult.

We wait for everything. We do because we know that growth is a process.

SIMEON and ANNA knew the process, so Simeon had a heightened expectation when he waited for the Messiah, and Anna worshipped day and night, fasting and praying.

They actively waited for the coming of the Lord.

Unsurprisingly, the Holy Spirit led them to him when they brought baby Jesus to the temple. (Luke 2 verses 25-39)

JESUS’ DISCIPLES waited for the baptism of the Holy Spirit. They knew they needed his power to do the work.

They waited on God, looking forward to the fulfillment of prophecy. (Acts of Apostles 1 verse 8)

THE CHURCH regularly prayed for Peter when King Herod arrested and imprisoned him.

They had a heightened expectation that God would intervene, and he did. (Acts of Apostles 12 verses 3-19)

After you have prayed, you must wait actively to receive anything from God.

JOB WAITED actively on God after he lost his children and possessions.

Then, he felt God left him when his wife told him to curse God and die.

But as he waited on God to intervene, he said: Even though He kills me, I will hope in Him.

Nevertheless, I will argue my way to His face. (Job 13:15)

YOU MAY HAVE prayed for a visa, been waiting on God to heal a loved one, trusted God for funds to do business or struggled with why you must wait.

You may have prayed all manner of prayers, but one thing I know is that God will not leave you or forsake you.

As he did to the disciples, yours may be a fourth-hour miracle. Jesus walked on the water. (Matthew 14 verse 25)

He may come when all hope is lost, as he did with Paul. (Acts of Apostles 27 verses 20-26)

IF YOU ARE going to win any battle, you must learn to wait. Waiting will mature you.

The boy David did not ascend the throne, and neither did the boy Joseph become Egypt's prime minister.

They were tested and purified in the furnace of affliction and came out refined. They were proven to lead.

---

Waiting will mature you.

DAVID understood the waiting process.

He said: “Once has God spoken. Twice has he heard that power belongs to God.” (Psalm 62 verse 11)

No wonder after cutting the edge of Saul’s robe, his conscience bothered him.

So, he said, The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, to put out my hand against him since he is the anointed of the Lord.” (1 Samuel 24 verse 6)

He knew he was anointed to kill Goliath but not Saul, so he did not cross the line. He knew to sit on the throne, he had to wait for God’s timing.

WEEPING may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning. (Psalm 30 verse 5)

The Lord had given Israel a word of victory the previous day.

So, the following morning, King Jehoshaphat told them to believe in the Lord their God, and they would be established.

He also told them to believe in his servants, the prophets, and they would prosper. (2 Chronicles 20:20-22)

Belief is the backbone of certainty.

THE INGREDIENT for the winning season [establishment and prosperity] is faith in God.

By faith, the people [of Israel] crossed the Red Sea as though they were passing through dry land, but when the Egyptians attempted it, they were drowned.

By faith, Rahab the prostitute was not destroyed along with those who were disobedient because she had welcomed the spies [sent by the sons of Israel] in peace. (Hebrews 11 verses 29 & 31)

---

Belief is the backbone of certainty.

Final Thoughts.

YOU MAY have a great heart for fighting challenges, but you’ll need a life-conquering faith to overcome them.

To us, waiting is wasting. To God, waiting is maturing.