The Times of Waiting

At some point during the journey as a believer of Christ you will enter periods of waiting. Discouragement and frustration can occur when we find ourselves waiting on God to move on our behalf or address a particular issue we are experiencing.  There are ways to move through the waiting seasons, so they are not filled with negativity, fear and doubt. In the upcoming podcast I will discuss the ins and out of the waiting period, why they occur, and what to do and expect during times of waiting.   I sincerely believe you can come out  of the waiting season stronger, healthier, and more enthusiastic for life than you did before going into a time of waiting.

Transcript

I want to thank you for joining me for this weeks podcast titled Times of Waiting. At some point during the journey as a believer of Christ you will enter periods of waiting. Discouragement and frustration can occur when we find ourselves waiting on God to move on our behalf or address a particular issue we are experiencing.  There are ways to move through the waiting seasons, so they are not filled with negativity, fear and doubt. In the upcoming podcast I will discuss the ins and out of the waiting period, why they occur, and what to do and expect during times of waiting.   I sincerely believe you can come out  of the waiting season stronger, healthier, and more enthusiastic for life than you did before going into a time of waiting.

GOD HAS A PROCESS Do you get a sense that we live in an era where patience, growing over time, or going through the process to develop, seems out of style. Have you noticed the growing assumption that taking the fastest and easiest route to get something seems to be prevalent in society. These quick and fast tactics may have some temporary success in a world that wants to disconnect from God’s methodology forsuccess and fulfillment. However, God’s growth process tends to follow a cycle of seed time and harvest time. this is a biblical principle When we look at Genesis 8:22 it explains that if the earth exists, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease. God is a God of process, and for our lives to have real meaning, purpose, and fulfillment we need to go through his process of development.

REFINEMENT DURING THE TIMES OF WAITING There are times when it seems heaven is silent, and you feel no closer to God or the purpose he has for your life than you did when you first started this journey. During the waiting times, discouragement and even sadness can take hold of you.

 I want you to know that the Lord operates within systems that flow through processes, and it takes time to unfold and develop. I am here to tell you God has not forgotten you. Do not give up on the dream he has placed in your heart.  Understand there’s going to be a process. Embrace the process and find joy in each step you are blessed to take. Our lives are refined and fortified during the times of waiting. It is essential that we find a way to praise and honor God in all stages of the process. Giving honor and glory to the lord during the process will help overcome the negative words, thoughts, and imaginations that can take a position in our lives during the periods of waiting. 

HOW TO LIVE IN THE WAITING ZONE Waiting on God is not usually the easiest part of this life’s journey. Which is one of the reasons we need to we arm ourselves with the mindset and understanding that each day provides us with an opportunity to take another step towards fulfilling the greater purpose the Lord has for our lives. This type of mindset can also reduce the level of disappointment that often comes during periods of waiting. Gods preparation process involves a waiting period or seed time. During this seed time, you can experience a sense of darkness, loneliness, and fear. It can be difficult to see the deeper purpose and meaning in life. These times of waiting lays the foundation for your launching pad into the world. Our greatest moments of refinement can occur while we are out of sight or, buried underground, in the darkness of the waiting zone. You will eventually break ground all for all the world to see. Filled with confidence and power of the Lords spirit and you will positively impact the world around you. Do not lose heart because what you do during these times of waiting will have a major influence on your outcomes. 

TIME TO COME OUT OF THE WAITING ZONE  If you’re over forty, fifty, or sixty years old the world will strongly suggest your window of opportunity is over. I’m here to tell you that it is not the message from the Lord, you have withstood the test of time. You have endured through the various storms of life, and you are still standing. I can sense in my heart the Lord is saying it is time to come out of the shadows, time to declare and proclaim the message of hope and deliverance he has placed in your heart. Moses was eighty years old when he started walking in the fullness of his purpose, Abraham was one hundred years old when he finally fulfilled God’s promise of having a son. Aaron served as an assistant to Moses for forty years before he took the leadership role, David waited almost fifteen years to take throne after he was anointed for the role. I want to encourage you to not let another day go past without taking some step towards the purposes and meaning the Lord has placed in your heart. 

YOU DIDN’T MISS IT-Consider how Jesus knew at twelve years old that he needed to be about his father’s business. Yet, he did not start walking into his public ministry until he was thirty. Joseph spent thirteen years as a slave before he moved into a major leadership position in Egypt. Jacob waited fourteen years to finally marry the women he loved. Sarah was 90 years old before she gave birth to Jacob. Noah waited almost 100 hundred years for rain to fall and enter the ark. We need to live like we are in the process of achieving Gods purpose for our lives. There is no need to walk with your head down as though you missed it, God began a good work in you. And I am sure that he will carry it on until it is completed that what the lord declared in Philippians 1:6. So take heart and begin to move with confidence.

EMBRACE THE TIMES WAITING If you are hoping to be used by the Lord to improve your life and the lives of others expect times of waiting as part of the journey. These are not times to get depressed or overwhelmed with a sense of fear and doubt. Embrace the fact that your steps are being ordered by the Lord. Look to each day as a fresh opportunity to grow closer to God and strengthen your bond with him. Every morning that God allows you to open your eyes is a morning to rejoice and be glad. It is a new opportunity for you to move closer to him and your destination. When we demonstrate thankfulness and gratitude to God for each new day it becomes very difficult for discouragement and fear to fester destroy us during the times of waiting.

DIFFICULTIES CAN’T STOP YOU God will make a way for you survive all of the difficulties and challenges found in the times of waiting-consider how moses was born into world of chaos and death. Pharaoh orders the death of all newborn males. Yet, God found a way to preserve Moses to fulfill his greater purpose. The lord has preserved you and held you during the darkest moments of your life. Your current waiting period is just about over. Lean in to the life of prayer and reading of the holy scriptures. Let’s not forget about Jospeh who was sold into slavery by his own brothers.  God refined and defined him through that tragedy the other difficulties he encountered on his way to be second in command in Egypt. 

UNDERSTAND YOUR PURPOSE DURING TIMES OF WAITING A very helpful way to understand the waiting periods is to understand your purpose for the journey. All of us have been gifted to bring a blessing to the world around us. Once you identify your gift or gifts and formulate actionable plans to use them you will bring more purpose and meaning in your life experience. When we work in harmony with God to bring his purpose for our lives to the world our the times of waiting become energized with hope and destiny. When you’re doing the work and stepping into the life God has for you the energy and joy of living comes to the forefront. When we are filled with purpose and intention we will move differently in life.

LIVE WITH INTENTION We have been designed to live on purpose. Fulfillment, peace, and joy will come when we connect our lives with God’s greater purposes for us. In order for this to become your reality a conscious effort must be made to avoid the counterfeit purposes offered by the systems of this world. These fake purposes can drive you to pursue temporary, mostly unfulfilling activities designed to exclude the lord. Do not think for one second that you were brought into this earth to simply work, retire, and die. In Jeremiah 29:11 the lord has this to say about us as believers “I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Being hopeless and living with lack of direction is not Gods plan for your life.

USE THE EYES  OF FAITH The key to unlocking your greater purpose is found with the gift of imagination. I like to call it the eyes of faith. This powerful gift is truly life changing. However, the real power of this gift comes when we allow our imaginations to be framed around the word of God. This is where the deeper meaning and purpose of this life is found. When we begin to imagine what our life looks like with Gods word coming alive in it powerful moves of faith can be taken. This faith is to be used for us to build momentum. Each step of faith we take creates force and energy that will propel us forward towards our call and greater purpose. The use of imagination is a process and takes time to develop and incorporate into our lives just as most things do. But if you allow your imaginations to get warped by the ways of this world you will miss the call of God on your life. 

Let the Word Inform you: I cannot stress the importance of staying plugged into the word of God during the heavy times of waiting. When we allow the circumstances of life good or bad to move us away from scripture negative outcomes are sure to follow. Instead of peace in contentment you will be like those in Jeremiah 13:10 who refuse to hear Gods words and then walk in the darkened elements of the imagination. When we get to that place we become completely useless. That may sound harsh, but that is the biblical reality that Jeremiah brings to our attention.  All of us will use our imagination one way or the other. Many times, we are not even aware of when its activated. The key is to become more aware of it, frame it around scripture and then to use it to bring the lords purposes into our lives and then bring it to the world around us.

Mindset while waiting on God: With the right mindset, times of waiting can be filled with energy, excitement, anticipation. and struggle. The struggle comes as we fight to hold onto the imaginative state of living provided to us by scripture. Waiting is not stagnant, its progressive and growing, yet it is not always noticeable to those around you.  If you allow the spirit of this world, which seeks instant results without processes to take hold of your mind and heart you will become dissatisfied, discouraged and more than likely stop pursuing that which was placed in your heart. Times of waiting are like the seed planted in the ground, development and growth are happening beneath the surface, but it cannot be seen. 

The Dark Places of Waiting: We are to be like that seed growing and developing  underground not yet noticeable to the world around it. Consider Mark 4:26-29 This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. Many times, the waiting times are very much like this seed. We are not always conscious of the growth and development that is taking place during times of waiting, but it is happening. The key is to stay connected with the meaningful purposes of God and not lose sight of the promised results.

Little steps of development: Zechariah 4:10 tells us no “not despise small beginnings for the Lord himself rejoices to see the work begin” the lord understands the waiting periods and finds joy in seeing us live that out. His ways are not like our ways. Our mission is to learn and adopt his ways and not try to force our perspectives or ways into God’s plan.  We need to find ways to rejoice and praise Him during the periods of waiting. Honoring and thanking God for each little step will make the dark waiting periods feel more like a growing season than a stagnant waiting period. Don’t allow discouragement to settle in because of how many small incremental steps it  may take to grow through the waiting periods. Just like that seed buried in the darkness of the earth we will eventually break through and spring forth with power and demonstration of Gods purpose and meaning for our lives.  

Stay Connected: When we stay connected with purpose and understand that every little incremental step is to be celebrated as getting us closer to Gods plans for our lives. It becomes difficult for discouragement and disappointment to settle in and derail our progress. As we rejoice with each step, joy will show up in our lives and provide additional strength and confidence to continue the journey. Recall how Nehemiah declares “the joy of the Lord is your strength”  the type of strength that comes from Joy allows us to rejoice during the times of waiting. Living intentional lives for Christ invariable leads to joy which will bring light, hope and energy into the dark and often lonely times of waiting. 

There is more to joy than feeling good: It is the joy of the Lord that will empower you to continue your life journey as you wait to hear the words of God telling you job well done my good and faithful servant (Matthew 25:23). It is the Joy of serving the Lord that brings the power to continue during the often-difficult times of waiting. Consider how Christ endured the cross and the shame that came with it. Christ experienced Joy during the difficult waiting periods before he would return to the right hand of God (Hebrews 12:2). Living a purposeful life for Christ can cause you declare that these present difficulties found in this life are not worth comparing to the glory that will be revealed in us (Romans 8:18). Pursuing the purpose of God for you life is the true path to contentment and fulfillment in this life.

To live out loud for Christ:  is to see every day as a blessed opportunity to grow closer to God’s and his purpose for your life on earth. This life we have is to be lived out loud and enjoyed. Yes, life is truly short and full of trouble (Job 14:1) but we are instructed to take heart as Christ has overcome the world and its troubles.  He has gifted you and I with an amazing opportunity to move and experience this life in a different dimension. A spiritual dimension which can override some of the negativity and pain that exist in this word. I hope you found these words of wisdom, uplifting and satisfying to your soul. I want to encourage you to embrace the times of waiting with joy, energy, and enthusiasm, knowing that the Lord is doing a good work in your life. Thank you for listening to this broadcast brought to you by the Laguna Blue Media Group.