Waiting

Noah had to wait about 100 years from the time God told him to build an ark until the time that it actually began to rain.

Abraham had to wait about 25 years from the time God told him that he would have a son with Sarah until the time that Isaac was born.

Joseph had to wait about 13 years in prison before he became Pharaoh's second-in-command in Egypt.

Moses had to wait and spend 40 years tending sheep in the desert for his father-in-law before God called him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt and toward the Promised Land.

Waiting on God can be agonizing.

We know what we want, and we want it right away.

But frequently God's timing is not the same as ours.

Frequently God makes us wait, in order to measure our faith, strengthen our faith, build up our perseverance, and produce patience within us.

It is never easy to have to wait.

In fact, it can be excruciating.

But in Psalm 27:14 (NKJV), David, who had to hide in caves and wait for 10 years while Saul was trying to kill him, says, "Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord!"

Later, in Psalm 37:7 (NKJV), David adds, "Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him ...."

Wait on the Lord. Rest in the Lord. It may not be easy to do, and in fact may be very painful at times, but let God strengthen your heart, and trust confidently in His sovereign will.