Today’s Devotional: Faithfully Waiting
Have you ever been in a situation with no good resolution, feeling like God had abandoned you?
Sometimes we find ourselves in over our heads. Our natural inclination is to try to dig ourselves out, but sometimes we find that there’s no right way to do so. We can keep trying to dig ourselves out… or we can wait patiently for God to help us.
At Strength for the Journey, Joe Stowell describes the process of waiting patiently for God. It’s not an easy thing to do. But it could be, as in the story of king David, that God has already planned our deliverance:
King David understood this. He knew that he was to be the next king of Israel. Rather than staging a dramatic takeover, he faithfully served in the army and played his harp in the palace to soothe King Saul’s stress. Things were going great until Saul developed an insane jealousy that drove him to try to kill David. When David was being hunted by Saul, he found himself in a cold cave crying out to God, “How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me? How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart all the day? How long will my enemy be exalted over me?” (Psalm 13:1-2 NASB).
Like David, when we feel that God has forgotten us we are prone to plan our own escape. We say, “I know what I’ll do. I’ll—no, that won’t work. Here’s what I’ll do—no, I don’t think that will work either.” It’s the total despair of seeming to be locked in with no apparent way out.
Take courage. God already knows how He is going to deliver you. In fact, He is in the business of making ways of escape! Peter assures us, “the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials” (2 Peter 2:9). So you can count on it: When you are faithful and patient through trouble, God will, in His time, exercise options of deliverance that are far beyond what you ever dreamed!
Have you ever been in a situation in which you needed to rely on God in faith that he would deliver you?
Thank you so much for that encouraging word, may you continue to let the spirit of God move you to do great and mighty things.Even when we face trials there are there to strenghten our faith in him.
Can we have a teaching on how to pray the rightful way and also as a teenager i also want to know the kind of dating God approves of.If you can do that for me i’ll be more than happy.
Jesus taught us how to pray with the Lord’s prayer. Remember to include these 5 simple things and you will have it.
1. Praise God and give Him thanks for all He has done for you and all He is. (I thank Him for things He has yet to show me and for His grace and always being with me too)
2. Submission to His will. Let Him know you understand that He knows your needs but that His will is always what is best for you.
3. Daily Bread. This is where you pray for your needs and the needs of others (always remember to pray for you spiritual leaders to be strengthened and refreshed so they can continued to lead in His word successfully)
4. Forgiveness. This is where spill it! Get it all out there and ask Him to forgive you. Ask Him to forgive those who have sinned against you. And ask Him to help you forgive yourself (this is hard for some people to do).
5. Deliverance from evil. Ask Him to protect you from temptation and the enemy and give you the strength to rebuke the enemy when he attacks you, whether mentally, emotionally or physically.
The order is flexible but include each thing. Also pray for you enemies just as you do your loved ones. Ask they have a revelation of Jesus and are saved. This is very important and will make a big difference in your life too.
As for dating, my pastor says this:”Your body and all it contains was bought and paid for by the blood of Jesus Christ. It should never be somebody’s playground. Any unions you have in marriage are sanctified by God and blessed to help create the unity of man and woman. Just pray to God that He brings the right people into your life and trust Him. If you get past a first or second date and still don’t know where the person stands on God then ask. If their answer gives you a sick feeling then you might want to move on. Remember God can do for you what you cannot do for yourself including pick a mate because He can see the hearts of man. Give all your concerns to Him and trust completely that He will be a perfect Daddy and give you what you need, His Best! God Bless you!
“I love the Lord, He heard my cry and pitied every groan”. I am a witness that He can and will deliver His people from their trials. I was in a position to look nowhere but UP. I fell on my face and cried out. Then I stood still and saw the salvation of the Lord! What a mighty God we serve.
God made the Israelites wander in the wilderness for 40 years … to make an 11 day trip. Why? To prepare them and to test them.
Our life circumstances and the people around us mold us into who we are. This is called character building. God wants us to have Christian character — those qualities exemplified by Jesus in the gospels. The process of building Christian character is called sanctification, and it does not happen overnight, and it does not ever end as long as we live in our earthly bodies.
Sometimes, to bring about the desired changes in our character, God has to lead us in the wilderness, seemingly for 40 years. Everything God does is for our benefit, not to harm us. But we have to remember this is not about us getting what we want, it is about God’s purposes.
God does have plans for us, read Jeremiah 29:11. God tells us He has good plans for us. But they happen on God’s time table.
And God loves us so much that like a wise parent, He does not give us things we are not ready for. You would not buy a car for a 10-year-old child. God knows what we can handle, when we can handle it.
Nice…what an awesome illustration! Praise God! And God Bless You.
From that 40 year wondering only two men of the original generation entered the promise land. The two who did not reject what God wanted them to do, to believe. Yet they had to endure that 40 year wait. We don’t know what attitudes were manifested during each day of those long years by the people, nor by the godly chosen. We know that they were not abandoned by God, His plan continued, all to His glory and righteous growth for His people.
i love this teaching, may God continue blessing you, for i have experienced that in my lifetime and now i know that God has good plans for me.Thank you so much
Your word was encouraging.I’m currently fasting and praying that God would bring healing to both me and my husband. Lots of times i feel so downpressed, wondering when would God will come through for us. It’s really hard but i guess i just have to keep the faith.
This was a very powerful teaching. Thank you so much for the time you take to inspire God’s people through these teaching. This was my first time reading the blog and it was quite uplifting. In addition,hey no matter our circumstances God is always with us. After the death of Moses God repeatedly told Joshua to be very strong and courageous and even not to be dismayed because he would be with him like he was there for his predecesor (moses). So as christians let us be faithful as we wait on God; a break through must come.
This is a very timely article for me. It was God talking directly to me as I await my final grade in Strategic Management. All throughout my MBA, from the time I took the entrance exam up to the last subject I took, I already saw God’s hand in everything. He wove one miracle after another.
Now, I am excited and almost restless to see how God wants me to conclude my MBA … If i get a certain required minimum grade in Strategic Management, I will graduate with honors. If I do not reach that minimum, no matter how high my average is, I will not get any award.
This article is very helpful then in reminding me to be still and wait patiently on the Lord. Thanks!
Thanks for the opportunity to share thoughts on this site. happy I found it.
The Bible is filled with promises for those who “wait on the Lord”. I am sure we know them (maybe even better than i do) They that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength… “Wait on the Lord, be of good courage and he shall strengthen thy heart” Many have interpreted such texts to indicate deliverance from whatever it is that is demanding our patience, I must admit I see it a little differently.
I do think He strengthens us more to bear and persevere than to “deliver”. The deliverance is more over not allowing the situation to get to you such that it places you in a struggle and strangle-hold preventing you form moving forward with your life. The strength allows you to take the sickness, loss of job, break-up of marriage, in stride and living your life abundantly inspite of these things.
We live in a sinful world, sin brings debilitating circumstances, nothing will change that until God changes it. Until then let Him recreate our approach to life’s circumstances, If we see God as ultimately in control we can then know that in His time He will do what is best for us, and that each day the lot we face is what is best for that day…We cannot build muscles without lifting weights..We cannot build faith without facing trials.
I’ve been having struggles in my walk lately, and I’ve been feeling a lot like David in this message. I finally decided to start reading devotionals online today. How amazing is it that He put this message here, telling me to rely on God when all else seems hopeless, when that’s how I’ve been feeling? Jaw-drop moment.
I am presently facing a great financial situation. foreclosure and i don’t know what to do. I am praying daily and seeking God’s intervention. I know that HE will provide. I just need the prayers of the warriors.
Just said a prayer for you that you will have a home. But understand that God may want you somewhere else. Sometimes we only see one way. God can do all so therdore He will always chose the best way overall.
I just recently went through a bad financial time that I had been battling for years. I am now coming out of it slowly but I will be debt free one day because God doesn’t want us in debt. He wants us to be wise with our money so He is teaching me this now. I began to understand tithing and what it really meant. I now tithe a bit more than 10% and though it may not be easy I will not stop. I just though I was going to have to borrow money again just to get through this month because of extra bills. I heard a voice say “You could pay our bills before you started tithing” I told the devil to shut up and wrote my check out for the following Sunday service. Then I balanced my check book. I had enough! Plus I had money to buy groceries too! God sees your faith and rewards you. I love my Daddy and thank Him! Trust in Him. We can pray for you but you must trust Him completely for the prayers to be effective.
To answer the above question, yes I have been in a situation where I had to depend on God to deliver me, well actually my son. He was born with a rare genitic disorder, that was quite unheard of in th U.S. The doctors told me and dad that we should pull the plug on my son because it wasnt a question wether or not he would makr it, they were sure he wouldnt. When we rfused they told us we were selfish and even talked mine and my husbands parents to be on thier side and talk us into pulling the plug. I was in a backslidin stage at that time. But thank GOd that my Churh’s number hadnt changed in almost a decade. I talked to my First Lady and she gave me a word from the Lord. She told me my son was going to love and not die, that I should speak life over him everyday and not to pull the plug. Well it did not happen overnight. There were a whole lot of dark days. Days where it didnt seem he would make it. Nights that made u question if He was really going to do it. Watching my son battle ilness after illness, watching his heart stop beating and the medical team pounding on his chest to bring him back.2 years we lived that way. Now my son is 4 about to be 5. The Lord has not only kept my son alive, but He has caused him to defy everthing they said he would never do. He has gone above what I have asked or thought. Praise The Lord!!
He walls, runs, plays woth friends and fam, off of every life support machine, and dances at church during praise and worship, he also does signed language. The only thing my son hasent done yet is speak but I know thats soon to come, because I heard him speak in a dream and so has my husband. So let us continue to pray for one another in Jesus name, Be Blessed!!!
I have truly been blessed by all of these messages and I thank the Lord Jesus Christ for all of you. My faith is strengthened daily, but I had to learn to not beat myself up for waiting more patiently. I realized that everytime I became depressed about my situation and how it seemed the Lord had forgotten me, I was reminded of how he blesses me every second. Even more importantly, it did not take long for him to raise me out of my despair, and his message to me was even clearer. I become stronger and more excited to do his will and live on purpose for the Lord. I can see the change in my life. God is awesome. I guess if you think about the fact that tomorrow is not promised to us, and we give thanks for today and bringing us through yesterday, waiting is not so bad. I recognize I have to remind myself of this constantly and be forever thankful to the Lord.
Wait upon the Lord, Is. 40
Ironically I woke up this am around 3:00 with this message and googled this website.. A coincidence?? no
God, my abba father is sooo worthy of praise even for those gutwrenching years when I could not breathe.. Three of them, a son that went to college, a divorce from a cheating, abusive husband, my daughter went to college, I lost my home… and in my 40s, a Christian writer that could not write, only cry, and inside of a dark abyss that would never end. I cried out to my God, he heard my cry and delivered me day by day.. I have learned to let go and let God, to forgive my ex husband, to live day by day in prayer. He has taken it all from me so that I could open my hands and heart for something so much greater.. a new understanding of him and his love. Something I would not trade for anything.