Waiting With Wisdom

This is my grandson Ezra! One of the things I love about going to see him and his brothers is when I get to the door and knock. I can hear him running to the door as I call his name and excitedly announce "Ezra it's Nana!"
He will pull the curtain back and this is the face I see! My heart immediately melts and I can't wait to hear him tell me all about his day and any other thought he cares to share. He has my complete attention.

It got me thinking about the Lord and His relationship with us. Gems do you understand how excited He is when we take time out of our day to call on Him, to tell Him all about our day and any other thought that's in our head. When our face pops up in the throne room of God how does it look?

My jewel today is about waiting on God....... 
There are times when we are in the waiting period that seems to go on FOOOR EEEVVVEERRR ! Our image may look more like the picture below than that smiling face above. 

The only thing harder than keeping yourself encouraged during these times is keeping other people encouraged. Sometimes those who are watching or judging your life are more work than the waiting itself. I'm sure Job can relate to that. His friends were all to eager to tell him what he was doing wrong. I can tell you  from my personal experience lately it can mess with your self esteem. It can make you second guess your whole journey with the Lord when the waiting continues but the circumstances don't change.


But the Bible actually gives us some guide lines on how to handle the waiting and the wondering and for me a lot of times the wandering. That is what I want to share with you today.

There is a wonderful promise complete with a blessing when we wait properly.

Isaiah 64:4 For from days of old they have not heard or perceived by ear, Nor has the eye seen a God besides You, who acts in behalf of the one who waits for Him.

If I succumb to the should haves and what if's I'm saying that the Holy Spirit wasn't in complete control of my entire life. He was with me in my past, my present and my future and He works in my behalf when I wait on Him.

So how do I wait in a way that brings God glory?

Not gonna lie the first way is probably the hardest. Psalm 37:7 

Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him

I'm not even going to comment on that, you get it.

Psalm 62:1 My soul waits in silence for God only.

I think this is just plain good advice. Advice I should have taken sooner. The truth is friends, we, I talk to too many people asking what they think God is doing. Well how the heck do they know! That's a lot of pressure to put on someone, unless they have been on their face before the Lord praying for you their guess is as good as ours, a guess.  We have to be silent at times to even hear the Holy Spirit.

Psalms 27:13 I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord In the land of the living.

We have to believe what God told us or trust me you will despair! We have to expect it to happen when the Lord decides it's the best time for everyone involved.

Psalm 27:14 Wait for the Lord;

Be strong and let your heart take courage;
Yes, wait for the Lord.

Psalm 130:5 I wait for the Lord, my soul does wait,
And in His word do I hope.

Waiting is not for wimps! You have to be relentless in your commitment to stay strong and have courage. Depression, defeat and doubt are definite blows that will assail you. You have to remind yourself daily that your hope is in the Lord not yourself, your friends or your family. You need to STAND on God's word. 

Sometimes the waiting is because other people who are part of the equation are not listening to the Holy Spirit which can cause a clog in the whole pipeline. UGH how frustrating is that! 

The thing to remember Gems is in the end God's will happens it just may take a little longer. 

Psalm 119:74 May those who fear You see me and be glad,

Because I wait for Your word.
I'm doing my best to wait for God's word in a way that pleases Him even on the days, especially the days, that I feel more like the skeleton than Ezra. Trust me I have them but my hope for those who are witnessing my life, the yay and naysayers, that in the end you will all be glad because I waited for the word of the Lord. I want to be encouraging to all that I meet that God is faithful. That when I truly trust, His load is easy and His burden light.

In the meantime I continue trying to do everything as unto the Lord. I don't stop living or existing as I wait. I get up every morning and ask the Holy Spirit what He wants to do with the day He's given me. I try to be Jesus with skin on to any one I encounter each day. I give a smile or a word of encouragement. I write a Gena's Jewel and try to be real with my Gems so they don't feel alone. I'm not allowing waiting to replace living.
This is my life verse for this season and I remind myself as often as I need to, feel free to use it in your waiting ....