\u00a0Are you currently in God\u2019s waiting room?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n Waiting for Him to heal you or a loved one.<\/span><\/p>\n Waiting for Him to answer that prayer you\u2019ve been praying for years.<\/span><\/p>\n Waiting for Him to show you the next step.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span>It seems there are many of us in the Lord\u2019s waiting room. I\u2019m not sure if I\u2019ve known this many people in the waiting room before or if it\u2019s because I\u2019m in the waiting room that I recognize other people are in the room with me. Being in the waiting room isn\u2019t always the most comfortable place to be. When we are in the waiting room at the doctor\u2019s office we are sitting amongst strangers and we are all sick or we are there to see if we can get answers as to why something is wrong with us; thus making us all uncomfortable or on edge.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span>The Lord\u2019s waiting room isn\u2019t much different. We\u2019re waiting for God to do something or tell us something to do. We are anxious and wanted answers yesterday. God\u2019s timing isn\u2019t always aligned with our timing. We recognize God is in control, but what happens if we don\u2019t wait?<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span>I was reminded in Sunday school about Saul and him not waiting on Samuel at Gilgal. \u201cSaul, however; was still at Gilgal, and all his troops were gripped with fear. He waited seven days for the appointed time that Samuel had set, but Samuel didn\u2019t come to Gilgal, and the troops were deserting him. So Saul said, \u2018Bring me the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings.\u2019 Then he offered the burnt offering. Just as he finished offering the burnt offering Samuel arrived. So Saul went out to greet him and Samuel asked, \u2018What have you done?\u201d 1 Samuel 13:7b-11<\/span><\/p>\n Sit with me as I break these verses down by what jumps out at me. (I\u2019m smiling at you as I pat the seat next to me.)<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span>The first thing that jumps out at me is that fear was a major factor in how Saul responded to Samuel\u2019s late arrival. Saul\u2019s troops were, \u201cgripped with fear\u201d, and I\u2019m sure Saul wasn\u2019t just sitting around chumming it up as the enemy troops were gaining ground. How often do we jump ahead of God because we are filled with fear of what we think is going to happen? When we let fear overtake us we tend to lose focus on God and his promises. We take control of the situation and do what we think is best only later to realize our fear never came to fruition.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span>The second thing I notice is Saul did wait for the seven days that Samuel asked him to, but once that time frame was up he became impatient. Once the time that Saul thought was right expired he decided he would offer the burnt offerings to God instead of allowing Samuel to do his job as the prophet of the Lord. How often do we get impatient with God\u2019s timing and do something that was not meant for us to do? We tend to be so focused on ourselves and our timeline that we don\u2019t consider the big picture. While we are sitting in the Lord\u2019s waiting room, God is working and only his timing will allow all the pieces to fall into the right place. He is working out all the details that we don\u2019t even realize need attention. Could it be that when we don\u2019t wait we not only miss out on a blessing, but we steal someone else\u2019s opportunity to be blessed?<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span>The last verse and a question that no one really wants to hear, \u201cWhat have you done\u201d is asked. I\u2019m sure this question was laced with disdain. Samuel was disappointed that Saul didn\u2019t wait for his arrival, but the ultimate picture was Saul would lose his kingship because he did not listen to God. Thankfully, we can not lose our place as sons and daughters of the King because we don\u2019t listen. We can, however, make a mess of things and have to clean it up before we can move forward.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span>We don\u2019t like to wait, but there is something special about waiting. We can use this time of waiting to draw closer to God. Every time we get anxious or impatient with waiting we can take it to God. While we\u2019re waiting God is working. I had a friend\/mentor tell me recently, \u201cGod knows,\u201d and that simple phrase eased my anxious heart.<\/span><\/p>\n God knows we\u2019re anxious.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n God knows we want to know the next step.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n God knows the problem.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n God knows the answer.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span>Being in God\u2019s waiting room isn\u2019t always comfortable or easy, but we can trust him. If we are waiting it is so he can work things out for our good. Even though it doesn\u2019t always seem like it\u2019s for our good, if we keep giving all our concerns, fears, and worries to him we will receive his peace and all will be okay. It may not work out the way we wanted or even thought, but it will work out so that God\u2019s will and purpose for our lives are done and he receives the glory.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWait for the Lord, be strong and let your heart be courageous. Wait for the Lord.\u201d Psalm 27:14<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p><\/span><\/div>\n <\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u00a0Are you currently in God\u2019s waiting room?\u00a0 Waiting for Him to heal you or a loved one. Waiting for Him to answer that prayer you\u2019ve been praying for years. Waiting for Him to show you the next step. \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0It seems there are many of us in the Lord\u2019s waiting room. I\u2019m not sure if […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5399,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-62","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
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