Being in the ministry 50 years you see a lot of things and make a lot of mistakes. Looking back I can say without reservation that one of the most common and deadly is refusing to wait on the Lord. People tend to run ahead, lag behind, hit the panic button, or try to knock down the door of opportunity. Those are all mistakes. God is not the author of confusion and He is never tardy. We must learn to be content where we are, doing what we can, and wait on God to do what He wants. The following message from the Baptist Bible Hour gives some good advice:
“The reason that we many times do not see or feel the Lord is that we are not waiting on the Lord. We are still on our own timetable and we are still running madly ahead of God and hoping He will catch up to our plans. But that is not how God works. He doesn’t change just because we are fickle and He does not hurry just because we are impatient.
Believer, I do not doubt that your trial is real, that your burden is heavy, or that your discouragement is deep. But put your eyes upon this promise, wrap your mind around this word: when we wait courageously on the Lord, He will strengthen our hearts. God is never late and He is never insufficient.
What will the future bring? Wait on the Lord. When will this sorrow end? Wait on the Lord. How can I survive this ordeal? Wait on the Lord. How should I handle this decision? Wait on the Lord. The answer echoes through the tunnel of time and from the soundboard of millions of satisfied saints. Wait, I say, on the Lord.
The trial may not go away tomorrow, but neither will the strength that God has promised to give you. The pain may not diminish, but neither will His grace.”
