But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. – James 1:4
Have you ever had to wait for the Lord to answer a prayer or act? God’s plans don’t always pan out according to our impatient timetable. We usually want God to work in the “Now!” But that’s not the way God works. There’s usually waiting involved with the panning out of the plans of God. Why is that?
Maybe you’re waiting for justice; for wrongs to be exposed and righted. Maybe you’re waiting for a political outcome that is definitive and clear-cut; unquestioned. Maybe you’re waiting for the truth to come out. Maybe you’re waiting for corruption to be identified, dealt with, and destroyed. Maybe you’re waiting for perp walks and shaming publicity for offenders. But those types of outcomes don’t normally happen lickity-split, they take time. There’s usually a lot we don’t know and a lot that has to happen behind the scenes.
In regards to justice being served we would do well to remember the famous line attributed to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow that states, “The wheels of justice turn slowly, but grind exceedingly fine.” It is a line translated from a 17th century French poem “Retribution” by Friedrich Logau. The full wording of the poem is:
“Though the mills of God grind slowly, yet they grind exceeding small;
Though with patience he stands waiting, with exactness grinds he all.”[1]
There’s great truth in those words.
Perhaps your need for patience relates to more personal issues. Perhaps you’re single and are waiting on the Lord for a spouse. Maybe you’re waiting for the Lord to work in a relationship. Perhaps you are in what you feel is a dead-end job and are waiting on the Lord to make some changes. Maybe you’re in ministry and are waiting for the Lord to bring fruit from your labors. Or maybe you’ve been praying for loved ones to accept the Lord as Savior or to get serious in their walk with the Lord. Waiting on the Lord implies a need for patience and that is something that only comes through waiting, waiting on the Lord.
Waiting on the Lord requires patience. Patience is a God ordained means to build Godly character (Romans 5:1-4; James 1:2-5). God works in a totally efficient way. He does not only concern Himself with the end, goal or objective of His purposes. God works in the means, the process, and journey we travel to accomplish His purposes. God works in and through us by using the race as well as the finish line.
But the truth of life and the way God works is expressed in these wise words:
Commenting on our need for this virtue [i.e. of patience], M.H. Lount has said, “God’s best gifts come slowly. We could not use them if they did not. Many a man, called of God to…a work in which he is pouring out his life, is convinced that the Lord means to bring his efforts to a successful conclusion. Nevertheless, even such a confident worker grows discouraged at times and worries because results do not come as rapidly as he would desire. But growth and strength in waiting are results often greater than the end so impatiently longed for. Paul had time to realize this as he lay in prison. Moses must have asked, ‘Why?’ many times during the delays in Midian and in the wilderness. Jesus Himself experienced the discipline of delay in His silent years before His great public ministry began.”
God wants us to see results as we work for Him, but His first concern is our growth. That’s why He often withholds success until we have learned patience. The Lord teaches us this needed lesson through the blessed discipline of delay. [2]
We need to let patience do its job. But we don’t like that. The “discipline of delay,” ah, that’s the issue isn’t it. In our fast paced, got-to-have-it-now world having to wait is not something we are familiar with or really want any part of. But God wants to do something more in us than just move us around like kings or queens on a chess board. God wants to mature us, build us, construct us, and so there is a “discipline of delay.”
The discipline of delay is a lesson few want to learn. In fact, I have heard some comment, “Don’t pray for patience, or God will make you wait all the longer.” They say this as though God was some stern Taskmaster who takes pleasure in imposing His long, wearying will and way on us. To those I say, “Wait a minute, the God of the Bible has only our best at heart for us. If He tells us patience is valuable for us, then we should take Him at His word.” Are you willing to trust Him and let patience do its’ job?
The discipline of delay is tremendously valuable. The value of delay is even more valuable in the fast-paced world of today. You see, patiently waiting on the Lord provides us time to see and appreciate fully the hand of the Lord in our lives. When we run through life at a sprint, we are in danger of missing the blessings of God and also missing the truth that the blessings are from God. When God makes us wait, when He disciplines us with delay, He is slowing us down to put His plan in place and make sure we understand how it works. The discipline of delay is God’s remedial lesson to bring us out of our superficial spiritual life into a deeper fuller spiritual character. And that is true for the Christian in every area of life where patience and delay and waiting are required.
The promise of God is that patience is the path to perfection or completeness. The apostle James was inspired to write about this saying:
- James 1:4 – But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
This verse tells us that if we are to become all that God desires us to be, we must surrender to the Lord’s discipline of delay and wait patiently for Him to work in and through us. If we want to be all God desires for us to be, so that we can do all He wants to do in and through us, then we have to let patience do its job.
Few in our day (and really throughout human history) would find it easy to say “patience is a virtue.” Despite the value of patience, it is hard to find in people and not something we are eager to learn about. One unknown poet wrote a short word on the lack of patience in people saying:
Patience is a virtue, Possess it if you can.
Found seldom in a woman, Never in a man. [3]
Even in our gender confused world there’s truth in that.
The Bible has a lot to say about waiting on the Lord. And waiting on the Lord is very important not only because of its value in building Godly character, but because the Spirit acts through those who wait on the Lord. But what does it mean to wait on the Lord? Does it mean we sit back and do nothing and wait for the Lord to act? Or does it mean something else? G. Campbell Morgan (a great Bible expositor) once described waiting on the Lord in the following way:
Waiting for God is not laziness. Waiting for God is not going to sleep. Waiting for God is not the abandonment of effort. Waiting for God means, first, activity under command; second, readiness for any new command that may come; third, the ability to do nothing until the command is given. [4]
In our study we will see that what we find is very much in tune with this description of waiting on the Lord. What can we learn from the discipline of delay and patiently waiting on the Lord? What happens when we let patience do its job? Let’s see.
The Perfect Work of Patience
The phrase “waiting on the Lord” is another way of talking about patience and therefore we need to clarify some things about this characteristic of the Christian life. Patience is not something we come by in our own strength. As with all things in the Christian life, God is the author of it. God is the Author of any patience we experience (Romans 15:4-5). Jesus exemplified patience in His earthly ministry (2 Thessalonians 3:5). The patience of Jesus must have been pushed to the max when dealing with the dull disciples of His earthly ministry (e.g. Matthew 16:21-23; Mark 8:13-21; Luke 9:45; 24:25). The Lord has patience with His disciples throughout the centuries and yes, even today. Any patience we acquire is a fruit of the work of the Holy Spirit in us (Galatians 5:22). Patience is a work of God in us (Colossians 1:11). Patience is something God wants to build into us.
Patience is something we must welcome as a work of God in our hearts (Luke 8:15). We don’t always welcome the work of patience because it often involves going through trials (Romans 5:3-4). Patience is a test of our faith and that is not always comfortable for the student of patience (James 1:3). Patient perseverance is the vehicle that gets us through to the end of our salvation (Luke 21:15-19). Patience is worth the wait and worth the work because it will be rewarded (Romans 2:6-7). Jesus commends patience in the believer and the church (Revelation 2:2-3). If we are to see the Lord work in us and through us, patience is a necessary ingredient. This is what James was inspired to tell us when he wrote:
- James 5:7-11 – 7 Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. 8 You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. 9 Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door! 10 My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience. 11 Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.
We need to plant and water the seed and watch the Lord bring the fruit. A blessing awaits those who patiently wait on the Lord. This is the lesson of the discipline of delay.
How Long Does It Take for Patience to Do Its Job?
The psalmist asked that very same question of God, “How long Oh Lord?” (Psalm 13; 35:17; 74:10; 79:5; 80:4; 89:46; 90; 94:3). Interestingly, God asks us at times “How long?” in regards to our sinning (e.g. Psalm 4:2; 62:3; Jeremiah 4:14; 23:25-26). When we ask God “How long?” we need to look within to see if there is anything God is asking us “How long?” in regards to sin.
The answer to the question, “How long do I have to wait?” is as long as God tells you to wait. Our relationship with God is dynamic, not static, real not imagined and He speaks to us through His word (Psalm 119; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; Hebrews 4:12), through godly counselors (Proverbs 11:14; 15:22; 24:6), and even circumstances (e.g. Jeremiah 32; Acts 10). Through these God will tell us how long to wait for Him. How long does it take patience to do its job? As long as God requires it to take.
How Can We Let Patience Do Its Job?
How can we let patience do its job? Where do we get the strength to wait? How can we wait long if God so requires? If we wait on the Lord in our own strength we will falter and fail. In our own strength we will wilt and waver but in the strength of the Lord, we will make it through to the end. God has promised to renew the strength of those who patiently wait on Him to fulfill His plans. This is His promise to those who wait on Him as His word says:
- Psalm 27:14 – Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!
- Psalm 37:9 – For evildoers shall be cut off; But those who wait on the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.10
- Psalm 37:34 – Wait on the Lord, and keep His way, And He shall exalt you to inherit the land; When the wicked are cut off, you shall see 35
- Isaiah 40:31 – But those who wait on the LordShall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.
Whatever length of time we are called on by God to wait, we need to rely on Him to help us obey that call to wait. Waiting on the Lord should move us closer to Him as we lean on Him to get us through our time of waiting.
As we wait on the Lord, we need to consider that what we have interpreted as God telling us to wait for, may very well be His answer of “No” to what we have asked Him for. When we pray to God and ask Him for something, He says either, “Yes,” “No,” or “wait.” A prolonged wait may be a “No” from the Lord. Only prayerful waiting on the Lord and seeking clarity from Him, His word, God ordained circumstances and Godly counsel, will help you determine what God’s answer is.
Patiently Endure Like Jesus
Patience is an indispensable ingredient of building a strong faith. When we look in the Bible at the chapter about faith and the Hall of Faithful believers it should not surprise us that on the heels of that chapter comes an exhortation to endure patiently like Jesus did. Hebrews eleven defines faith and then gives numerous examples of those who exemplified faith in their lives and how God was able to greatly use them. Then in Hebrews twelve Jesus is held up as our perfect example of faith with the inspired words:
- Hebrews 12:1-2 – Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Notice the phrase I have underlined, “Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” Here is the perfect description of patiently waiting on the Lord. Patiently waiting on the Lord involves running (i.e. action) in the race that God has set before us. And as we run God’s course, we keep our eyes on Jesus to see how we should run. He patiently waited on the Lord and ran the race set before Him with joy in His heart because He knew the great good of God’s plan that would result. When we look at Jesus, we discover that patience is the path to joy and redemption.
The Promise for those Who Patiently Wait on the Lord
In the opening words of this epistle James writes:
- James 1:4 – But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”
The word “patience” is translated from the Greek term HUPOMONE (Strong’s #5281 – ὑπομονή hupŏmŏnē, hoop-om-on-ay). This is an interesting word because it doesn’t refer to a grin and bear it putting up with something, but rather a “cheerful or hopeful endurance,” a constancy.” HUPOMONE means to wait with anticipation. [5]
What is also interesting about this verse is that perfection or completeness is referred to three times in this short verse. The word “perfect” comes from the Greek term TELEIOS (Strong’s # 5046 – τέλειος tĕlĕiŏs, tel´-i-os) which is a term that describes the outcome of labor and growth as it refers to character. The idea is the effect of a process on a person and the final outcome of their character. [6] A person who is “perfect” is a person who has stood the test of life and matured as a result.
TELEIOS is the Greek term translated by the word “perfect” in this verse. But the word “complete” is a translation of the Greek term HOLOKLEROS (Strong’s #3648 – ὁλόκληρος hŏlŏklērŏs, hol´-ok’-lay-ros) which emphasizes the completeness of a work that reaches every part of the whole.[7]
Our natural response to difficulties might be to flee them or wiggle out from under the pressure that comes our way. But James 1:4 tells us there is a great reward for those who patiently wait on the Lord. That reward is becoming all God intends us to be. We are His workmanship, or more literally, we are His poetry (Greek poema in Ephesians 2:10). The path of patience is the way to becoming a completed poem of the Lord. God has promised to complete the work He started in us (Philippians 1:6). Will we be willing to wait on Him to finish His work in and through us? I hope so!
When we decide to be impatient and not wait for the Lord it can result in missing out on God’s best for us and even painful consequences. For instance, if when we are waiting on God for a spouse, we at some point decide we’ve waited long enough, (but not as long as God would have us wait), and lower God’s standards we will make a mess of our lives. If we impatiently jump into a marriage, it will lead to a great deal of pain, chaos, suffering and anguish. Act impatiently in this important area of life, and it will lead to a lifetime of regret.
If we are in what we perceive to be a dead-end job and decide we’ve waited long enough and impatiently quit that job, we may be headed for an extended place on the unemployment line. If our impatience leads us to a bad attitude and we cut some corners or slack off in our integrity, well, our reputation will take a hit when we’re discovered. And if we are a known Christian, God’s reputation will also take a hit because of us. With a resume tarnished because of our impatient actions, it may be a while before we find the job God is setting up for us. It will likely result in us learning some humility, downsizing, frustration, and enforced waiting. When we act out impatiently it going to be painful. It’s like going to the dentist and leaving before he’s done with us. If our root canal is incomplete and uncapped, with nerves exposed, we’re in for some pain. Cold and hot and the normal eating of life becomes a chore and distraction. Impatience leads to life complications and problems that prevent us from enjoying God’s pleasures.
God wants to do a complete work in us. As humans we are complex in many ways and it takes time for God to do His complete work in us so that we will lack nothing. For God to do His perfect and complete work in us requires patience on our part. Warren Wiersbe makes the following comment on this work of perfection:
The experiences that come to the children of God are not by accident (Rom. 8:28). We have a loving Heavenly Father who controls the affairs of this world and who has a purpose behind each event. . .. God put young Joseph through thirteen years of testing that He might make a king out of him. Peter spent three years in the school of testing to be changed from sand to rock! Paul went through many testings, and each one helped to mature his character. Of course, it takes faith on the part of the Christian to trust God during testings, but knowing that God has a divine purpose in mind helps us to yield to Him.[8]
God wants to do a perfectly wonderful work in you and through you, if you will wait around for Him to complete it.
Some things you just can’t rush. Have you ever tried to work on wet paint? It gets really sloppy. When I was a boy, I enjoyed building models. When I first started making models, I just couldn’t wait to have my model look like the picture on the box. The instructions called for pieces to be sanded, cleaned and painted. Then they would have to dry. But sometimes my impatience would get the best of me and I’d take pieces before the paint had dried, and tried to glue them together. What a mess! My work would be ruined with my fingerprints on the paint. The glue wouldn’t adhere either. It would all fall apart in a ruined mess. We’re like that when we try to build our lives impatiently. The result will usually be a ruined mess with our fingerprints as evidence of our guilt.
Our problem is we often run away before God is finished. There is a promise for those who patiently wait on the Lord and learn the lessons of the discipline of delay. That promise is God’s complete work in us and the experience of what Jesus called “the abundant life” (John 10:10). God’s school has a class on patience and it is a required course. Will we graduate from such a class, or will we drop out? God likens His work in us to Him writing a poem (Ephesians 2:10). Will your poem be cut short, or will it have a perfect ending? It’s up to you.
Content to Let Patience Do Its Job
How should we wait? What should our attitude be while waiting on the Lord? If we are truly resting in the Lord; if we have truly put our lives, hopes, dreams and desires in the hands of the Lord, then that should be reflected in the way we wait on the Lord. The apostle Paul wrote some of his letters from a prison cell. Paul must have wondered why he had to wait so long on the Lord’s moving to get him out of that cell. Peter had been freed from prison twice (Acts 5:19; 12:5-11), and he had been miraculously freed himself once before (Acts 16:25-27), why didn’t the Lord get him out now? Do you feel you are imprisoned by your circumstances? Do you feel sentenced for life to unfavorable circumstances with no hope of escape? Is waiting on the Lord causing you to be irritable, impatient, aggravated, angry, antsy, impulsive, distraught, depressed and have a bad attitude? If that describes you, then you need to read what the apostle Paul was inspired to write while he was in prison because what he wrote will challenge you to change.
Even though Paul had to wait on the Lord in a prison cell, he was able to write under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit the following words:
- Philippians 4:11-13 – 11 Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: 12 I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
The operant word in these verses is “content.” The word “content” comes from the Greek term AUTARKES (Strong’s #842 – αὐτάρκης autarkēs, ŏw-tar´-kace) which is a compound word made from AUTOS (Strong’s #846 – αὐτός autŏs, αὐ̂ au) which means “self” and from ARKEO (Strong’s #714 – ἀρκέω arkĕō, ar-keh´-o) which literally means “to raise a barrier; to ward off; be satisfactory; be content; suffice; be enough; be sufficient.” [9] The idea here is a person who has everything they need for themselves. To be content is to have the attitude that you have everything you need and don’t have to go outside to look for more. Paul was saying the attitude he had in every situation was that he had all he needed, (and here is the essential part of this), “through Christ who strengthens me,” and he didn’t have to go outside of Jesus and relationship with Him to find something else while he waited. To be content means to rest in Jesus, to put all your cares and worries and future in His hands by faith. That is the attitude we should have. When we wait, we should wait contentedly trusting in Jesus to bring us through. We should be content to let patience do its job in and through us.
We live in a society of discontent. We’re so dissatisfied with so much and are caught up in a pursuit of contentment in all the wrong ways. We think that contentment is in a different neighborhood, a different house, a different job, a different boss, if we were the boss, with more money, in a different relationship, in a different marriage, with a different body, with a different car etc., etc., etc., and what we miss is that contentment comes only through trusting in Jesus. Jesus can bring contentment in whatever situation you are in (that is not a sinful situation).
Oftentimes the very things we flee from are the instruments God is using to patiently build and understanding and experience of love, character and strong faith in us. Some things take time to build. You don’t just wake up one morning as a person of character or strong faith, it takes time and time requires patience. Having to wait patiently on the Lord to work in us cuts against the have-to-have-it-now discontented mindset of the world we live in. Unfortunately, discontent has crept into the church. Maybe it’s crept into you. If so, we must go to God to remove it because we’ll never experience His fullness if we rush His work.
God is working like a patient Master Builder of disciples. His work is detailed and complicated at times. When we impatiently try to rush His work, it’s like a monkey coming to a Master Watchmaker’s work bench with a mallet and saw. It’s not going to be pretty. When we act impatiently, God’s work in and through us will be reduced to a clumsy mess. God is at work and His work is perfect, it requires attention to detail. And it takes patience for the details to be put in place. Don’t mess up His work by jumping in and like a monkey hammering on a watch!
Patience Prepares us for God’s Answers
In the Old Testament book of Habakkuk, it states:
- Habakkuk 2:1-4 – I will stand my watch and set myself on the rampart, and watch to see what He will say to me, and what I will answer when I am corrected. 2 Then the Lord answered me and said: “Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it.3For the vision is yet for an appointed time; but at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.4 “Behold the proud, his soul is not upright in him; but the just shall live by his faith.
Habakkuk was waiting for answers from God about why Judah was suffering at the hands of the Babylonians. Maybe you’re wondering about what is happening to America. Pay attention then.
Habakkuk was a just man of faith. The prophet states, “I will stand my watch.” Habakkuk illustrates what just faith is all about when he says this. The prophet uses the illustration of a watchman who stands guard watching for an enemy approaching the city. This is waiting on the LORD. Waiting on God means to actively serve Him while you await His revelation. Habakkuk asked God a question, but while he awaited an answer from the LORD, he was involved in the work of a watchmen in the rampart, alertly serving. The prophet served the Lord as He awaited His word. Those big answers to those big questions, the ones that deal with nations, they require us to wait on the Lord.
God always answers prayer. God told Habakkuk, “It will surely come.” Therefore, as we wait, we need to wait attentively. Patience builds attentiveness. Like the climax in a good story, God has a wait as the pieces of history come together. As He helps us put the pieces together, we become more and more engaged, more and more understanding.
Patience therefore provides time for us to be prepared for God’s answers. Sometimes God says “Yes,” sometimes God says, “No,” and sometimes God says, “wait.” We should receive whatever God answers with equal joy because God’s “No” likely spares us some unforeseen pain, and His “wait” allows time for us to get prepared for His final answer. A “Yes,” from God often leads to greater responsibility and need for surrender. If we jump into that “yes,” prematurely, we will end up frustrated and faltering. God’s answer in God’s time is always the best way to go. Be ready for His will to be revealed.
How Long Are You Willing to Wait for the Lord; For Patience to Do Its Job?
At this point you may be able to see that waiting on the Lord is worth it to you and that God will help you wait on Him and His developing plans. But now we need to personalize this a bit. How long are you willing to wait for the Lord? God has a plan and purpose for you and it is awesome (Ephesians 2:10). I believe God has a plan for nations (Jeremiah 29:11-14; Daniel 2:20-23). But it may take time to develop His plans. We may have to wait, wait a long time for it to come to pass. God’s will fulfilled is the most important thing for all of us (Romans 12:1-2; Colossians 4:12; 1 John 2:17).
There are stories in the gospels of people who waited long periods of time for God to work in their lives. Some who are waiting on the Lord now may find those scary. But those who finally felt the touch of God felt His handiwork in their lives didn’t regret the wait. It’s worth it to wait on the Lord!
A nobleman waited about an hour (John 4:46-54). The apostles had to wait three days to see if Jesus would rise from the dead (Luke 24:46-47). As we saw earlier Cornelius and Peter waited a few days for God’s will to be fulfilled in their lives (Acts 10). We all may be able to wait this long, but what if you had to wait longer?
One woman waited twelve years for God to work in her life. She went to every doctor she could and no one was able to heal her. She even “suffered many things from many physicians.” Nothing was helping her. But Jesus was able to heal her. And as she was healed, she gave no signs of regret but only left in pe3ace that the wait was worth it (Matthew 9:18-21; Mark 5:25-34; Luke 8:43-48). Jesus said her faith had been instrumental in her healing. She had kept faith in waiting and the Lord healed her. It’s worth it to wait on the Lord!
How about eighteen years. Are you willing to wait eighteen years for God’s touch, for Him to work in you? In Luke there is a story of a woman who had back problems for eighteen years before she was healed by Jesus (Luke 13:10-13). As she stood up straight do you think she regretted the wait for her healing? No, she glorified God and probably didn’t even remember her wait. It’s worth it to wait on the Lord!
One man waited 38 years for healing from the Lord (John 5:1-8). As he was finally healed and stood on his own two feet for the first time in his life, do you think he was thinking about the wait? No, as the lame man walked on his own two feet for the first time, he didn’t regret the wait. With the gush of vitality and strength in his legs I don’t think he even remembered the wait. I want to encourage you to wait as long as the Lord wants you to wait. It’s worth it to wait on the Lord!
Abraham and Sarah waited until they were around 100 years old for God’s promise of a son (Genesis 18 and 21). Zacharias and Elizabeth “were both well advanced in years” when John the Baptist was born to them (Luke 1:5-25, 57-80). Abraham and Sarah named their son “Isaac” which means “laughter.” Zacharias blessed the Lord God of Israel when John the Baptist was born to them. These people had to wait long periods of time for God’s plan to be worked out in their lives, but there is no hint of regret for having waited on the Lord. It’s worth it to wait on the Lord!
So how long are you willing to wait on the Lord? 12 years? 18 years? 38 years? Longer? Are you willing to wait that long for God’s will to come to pass in your life? These stories show us that some times it takes a long time for God’s plan to come to pass. Waiting on the Lord is part of His plan for you and it brings pleasure to the Lord to see you trust him, even trust your entire lifetime to Him. In Hebrews it states this:
- Hebrews 10:36-39 – 36 For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise:37“For yet a little while, and He who is coming will come and will not tarry.38 Now the just shall live by faith; but if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.”39 But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.
Put your faith in God and trust Him with your entire life and everything in it. No matter if you are waiting patiently for planetary or personal things to pan out, let patience do its job in and through you. He is on the move, trust Him, and He will bring His will to pass in your life and this world. And when His will is done, you’ll be ready to receive it, and there will be no regret. Wait patiently on the Lord my brother and sister in Christ; wait patiently for Him. Let patience do its job! In Jesus’ name. Amen!
[1] https://www.hiskingdomprophecy.com/the-wheels-of-justice-turn-slowly/
[2] Our Daily Bread – http://www.higherpraise.com/illustrations/patience.htm
[3] http://www.higherpraise.com/illustrations/patience.htm
[4] http://www.higherpraise.com/illustrations/waiting_on_god.htm
[5]Strong, J. (1997, c1996). The new Strong’s dictionary of Hebrew and Greek words (electronic ed.) (G5281). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
[6]Strong, J. (1997, c1996). The new Strong’s dictionary of Hebrew and Greek words (electronic ed.) (G5046). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
[7]Strong, J. (1997, c1996). The new Strong’s dictionary of Hebrew and Greek words (electronic ed.) (G3648). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
[8]Wiersbe, W. W. (1997, c1992). Wiersbe’s expository outlines on the New Testament. Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books.
[9]Strong, J. (1997, c1996). The new Strong’s dictionary of Hebrew and Greek words (electronic ed.) (G842). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.