“God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart” (Deuteronomy 8:2 NIV).
Christmas brings a time of WAITING!!! Something I am not very good at not only during this times, but also many times during my life. Sometimes I know what needs need to be met and I know what needs to happen, I am just not very patient at times. So as you read this, know I am right there with ya!!!
If every prayer were answered immediately, if every need were instantly met, and if every problem were automatically solved, your faith would never be stretched. You’d be spoiled. You’d have no need for faith!
We’re humans, and we don’t like to wait. We hate it! We don’t like to wait in a doctor’s office or in a grocery store line or at stop signs. And you’d better not make us wait for our food at a restaurant!
But life is full of waiting. The Israelites had to learn this reality. Deuteronomy 8:2 says, “God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart” (NIV).
Maybe you are in God’s waiting room right now. It’s not a lot of fun. But it is a necessary time of building your faith.
The Bible says in Isaiah 64:4, “Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him” (NIV).
This means that while you’re waiting, God is working. You may not be able to see it. It may be behind the scenes. But while you’re waiting for that answer to prayer, for that thing to change, for the circumstances to be different, God is working—and he’s working on you.
Talk It Over
- How does practicing patience in smaller circumstances help you grow in faith in God’s waiting room?
- Why does it matter what kind of attitude you have when you’re waiting on God to do something in your life?
- What have been the hardest times of waiting in your life? What have been the times of the greatest spiritual growth in your life?
