Waiting with Patience

I know you have been wondering where I have been or did I go AWOL. I haven't posted all week and was beginning to wonder if I would get the chance before the weekend. I wish it were simple, like I could just plug in and speak wisdom whenever I wanted to, but we all know that when God gives you a gift, He is the one that is in control. I longed to share my week's events, my prayer requests, and the blessings that I received this week. But I couldn't; it would have been me. It would not have been a blessing; you probably would have been bored or at best you would know the difference between when a person is at work versus when God is working through a person. Anyway, I take my life in Christ seriously. The scripture says that Jesus only did what He saw the Father do and He only said what He heard the Father say. And the Bible also tells us that we are joint heirs with Jesus. So what is His is ours. That means if God doesn't do it, then I don't either. And if God didn't say it, then I won't either. This is supposed to be how all of God's children live, but unfortunately there are some who disobey. I choose to be "Radically Obedient".
I don't profess to be perfect, but I work at living a life that is consistently aligned to what the word of God says and what Jesus modeled for us. So if God wouldn't do it, then neither should we;if God didn't say it, then we should not say it, paraphrase it, or sugar coat it.

So what have I been doing? The truth is learning to wait patiently. Yes, I said learning because waiting and patiently don't come easily in my vocabulary. Most of the time, I often act before I should or I wait a hot minute and then move on and "do what I have to do". This hasn't always been the best thing to do, and it usually isn't very productive; but truthfully, I have had moments where I didn't wait, didn't wait long enough, or waited with an attitude. Sometimes how we go through a situation is the reason why we haven't gotten the answer. It is possible that God allows our situations to show us how flawed our characters are. I don't mean that God puts trouble in your life, but He treats you like Job. He allows the enemy to see how well you trust, obey, and love God.
I know that God has a message for each of us, after all He is the one that gives us ideas and desires and led me to start a blog. But He had not given me one word this week. I mean nothing. There are times when God seems silent. It appears as if He isn't listening to us, or He won't answer. Neither of these ideas is true. God always answers our prayers. It is just that He doesn't respond in the way we expect. Sometimes we know right away just what He is saying or leading us to. Other times we don't have a clue or can't clearly hear what we should do, or we aren't sure. Most of the time, we aren't in a position to hear, and God waits patiently for us to get ready to hear Him. Let's face it, life can be pretty distracting or at least we busy ourselves so that we don't have a moment's peace. Our little distractions often keep us from tuning into what that little voice (our spirit) is telling us.

The awesome thing is that God works in our lives in spite of us. He usually allows us to discover His answers when we take the time to cancel our agendas and focus on Him. I am sometimes guilty of concentrating on the answers rather than focusing on my relationship and time spent with God. After all praying for stuff does not count as talking to God. The good thing is that it is during those times that I am selfish that God waits. He doesn't give in to my temper tantrums, panics, or pity parties. He waits for me to get quiet, repent (because it makes me sorry to just want His blessings without wanting to spend time with Him), and He waits for me to seek Him.

We cannot expect to have all of His attention if He gets none of ours. Seeking God costs a price. Think about Jesus and the price He had to pay to be used and blessed by our Father. It cost Him his life, both in serving and in death. We too must lose something to gain His voice, direction, and blessings. Only we can know what price we have to pay. No one else can pay your price for you. Maybe it's thanking Him more, sitting quiet just listening, fasting, saying "No" to our family and friends for certain activities, or maybe it's letting sinful habits die since we really shouldn't do certain things anyway. Whatever it is, we must all empty our minds, hearts, and plans in order to learn God's words, ways, and heart. God wants the very best for you and me, and He desires to give us His heart's desire. But we must reposition ourselves so that we can know His will and lay our plans aside in order to walk in His perfect will and plan for our lives. Perhaps, we haven't spent enough time in the secret place.

Stop for a minute. Is there something you are desperately wanting God to answer, to fix, to show you, or to bless you with? I am sure the answer to that question is yes, even if all you really want is more of Him. So, go after God with all of your heart. Clear out the cobwebs of your mind, preconceived ideas of how you think He will answer, and get quiet. Now you must realize that God loves you, and He loves spending time with you. He may not be in a rush; so, neither should you. Set aside some quality time for God alone, and watch Him share His mind and heart with you, His beloved. Yes, friends, wait patiently for God because He has waited your whole life for you!