Waiting on the Lord...

Have you ever had to wait for something you really wanted? Something you've prayed for? Something that is your heart's desire?

I have.

And I still am.

If you're like me, you might get a bit impatient with God. You might even ask, "What's the hold up?!" I am not a patient person, and sometimes I think that very flaw is why God doesn't give me my requests right away. How can I learn patience if I never had to wait?

Sarah and Rebekah both wanted children. In Genesis 16:1-2 we read that Sarah wanted a baby so badly she came up with the plan to give her servant Hagar to her husband Abraham so Hagar could bear a child. Sarah says in verse 2, "The Lord has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my maidservant; perhaps I can build a family through her."

Big mistake! Sarah didn't wait on the Lord. She took matters into her own hands even though God had already told Abraham his offspring would be as many as the stars in the heavens. (15:5)

Rebekah, too, wanted a baby. She'd been married for twenty years before we read in Gen. 25:21 how Issac prayed on behalf of his wife because she was barren. (What a wonderful thing for a husband to do! Pray for his wife!!) She became pregnant and gave birth to Jacob and Esau.

If we learn anything from these two women, we learn that sometimes we have to wait on the Lord. He has a plan and a purpose in everything He does. But all too often we only see the "here and now." We don't recognize how each event fits in with other events to make up the whole picture. Sure, it took years and years for each of these women to get the child they longed for, but those children had a specific time to be born and a specific purpose to fulfill.

Are you waiting for something you've prayed for? I am. Waiting isn't easy, but God keeps reminding me that He has a plan. If I try to run ahead, I mess things up. If I lag behind, I mess things up. All I need to do is stick with the Lord. He is willing to walk me through this life, hand in hand, to reach the goal to which I strive!

Wait on the Lord, folks! We'll do it together.