“No unbelief or distrust made him waver (doubtingly question) concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong and was empowered by faith as he gave praise and glory to God.” Rom 4:20 (Amplified)
It was St. Francis of Assisi who prayed “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can and wisdom to know the difference.” So, if developing the fruit of patience is inevitable and essential to the process of our spiritual maturation, how should we set about making this trying period in our lives bearable, if not enjoyable? One conclusion I have since reached in my spiritual journey is that you can either wait happy or miserably, but wait you must if you are to receive whatever God has promised you.
The concept of waiting is an increasingly alien thought to our contemporary world. These days, if you want something that you can’t afford, the world says ‘Why wait or save up when you can start enjoying it right now? Let your credit card take the strain and you can pay up later.’ As a consequence of heeding this advice, many people are now caught in the mire of debt and are desperately looking for a way out. The reality of our walk with God is that it often necessitates us to patiently wait on God because patience is a means of proving and ripening our character, which ultimately prepares us to fulfil God’s purposes for our lives. It also helps us to discover new things about God as well as learn more about ourselves. Consequently, where God is concerned, the microwave mentality, which demands that everything be done yesterday just don’t apply. Furthermore, there can be no queue-jumping. You have to patiently wait your turn until heaven is ready for you.
The anchor passage above was referring to Abraham who had to wait for twenty-five years to receive the fulfilment of God’s promise. He started out full of faith, but as the time drew on and he had not received the promise, he began to doubt God’s ability and willingness to fulfil His promise. This crisis of faith continued until he received a revelation that changed his life and which allowed him to patiently wait on God in faith and to wait happy rather than being miserable. He discovered that praising God can enable your faith to grow stronger and of course you can’t truly praise God and feel miserable at the same time, since praise lifts our gloom and imparts hope in our hearts. From that day onwards, Abraham determined to wait happy and his confidence in God soared to heights unimaginable as his faith reached into heaven and took hold of God’s promise. The result was Isaac at Abraham and Sarah’s combined age of one hundred and ninety years. Incredible, you’ll say!
T.D. Jakes said that his only regret in twenty-nine years of ministry is that for twenty-eight years he had worried about things he had no control over when he could have relaxed and enjoyed himself while trusting God to do His bit. You don’t have to repeat that mistake in your life. Hence, determine today to wait happy by cultivating a lifestyle of praise. The difficult times will pass by quickly and will be more enjoyable.
Prayer:
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change and help me to praise you as I wait on you so that I can indeed wait happy in Jesus’ Name. Amen