God's Timetable

September 29, 2022

Psalm 27:14 - Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.

David finished this Psalm with the advice to wait on the Lord. The beginning of this passage sounds strong and confident as he talked about the Lord being his light and salvation, the stronghold of his life. But then it turns to pleas asking to be rescued by God and to not reject him. Then he finishes almost as if he’s trying to remind himself of God’s protection. 

The advice David is giving in this Psalm is good for everyone who wants to do the Lord’s will. It’s a great reminder that God’s timetable may differ from ours. We tend to want immediate answers to our prayers!  But God never seems to be in a hurry. He may not answer us right away, but He has promised to answer us when we need it most. Waiting on God actually draws us closer to Him and teaches us how to be patient. 

But waiting is hard! We’ve all heard the saying “Patience is a virtue”, but that doesn’t always come naturally to a lot of people, including me. But this passage is telling us to “Take heart” while we wait. We tend to forget that, or even ignore that part and instead, we stress, worry, or even get angry that only makes the waiting even harder! 

But waiting does not have to be empty and hopeless. We need to look beyond the moment and trust in the goodness of God at all times. To wait for Him means we are looking TO Him with joyful expectation and trusting him that there will be peace in the coming days.

I found this example of How NOT to wait on God from Rev. Charles Stanley that I want to share:

What are wrong ways to wait on God?

• Impatiently. Fussing at the Lord because He hasn’t done anything.
• Nervously. Being anxious about the outcome.
• Complaining. Grumbling at the Lord for His lack of response.
• Questioning. Doubting that God’s judgment is right.
• Frustrated. Being annoyed because God isn’t working according to your desires.
• Irritated. Becoming aggravated by His seeming inactivity.
• Miserable. Feeling that God is withholding something from you.

All these attitudes result because we don’t remember that God is good and generous, and He always gives us more than we deserve. But, because He is the one who is wise, and loving, He will withhold things that aren’t good for us, or we aren’t ready to handle, or could be stumbling blocks in our walk with Him.  We just need to take heart and WAIT.