Wait!

Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord. Psalm 27:14

Waiting is definitely the hardest command God ever gave to men on the go. We love to be productive. But we agonize over waiting.

Before David could take his place as the king, he had to wait for Saul’s reign to end. Before the apostles could experience the power of God in their lives, they had to wait for Pentecost. Even Jesus waited until he was thirty years old to begin his public ministry.

I know from experience how frustrating it must have been for some of those people to have to wait.

When I was twenty-one years old, I asked God to put me in full-time ministry, but he said, “Wait. Finish college.”

When I was twenty-four years old, I asked God to put me in full-time ministry, but he said, “Wait. Go to seminary.”

When I was twenty-eight years old, God asked me to leave youth ministry and begin pastoring a church. My first reaction was, “Wait. I am not old enough.” But God said, “Go!”

When I was thirty years old, I asked God to make my church bigger, but he said, “Wait. I want you to build deeper rather than bigger.”

When I was thirty-five years old, I asked God to make me wiser. He said, “Now you are starting to catch on.” Since then, the church I pastor has been growing steadily—in numbers and in depth.

As men, it is in our nature to want to go and do—right now! Today, however, the most important thing God may ask you to do is wait. Are you willing to do that?

God, give me enthusiasm for whatever you have planned for me today, even if it is just waiting.