Waiting

Today's lesson is about waiting; this became abundantly clear as I read the article "When God Makes You Wait." The article states "God could have healed Lazarus for 3 days, but waited until he had passed away" and went on to mention other men and the ways God made them wait. The point was God could have easily answered these men's prayers or eased their suffering, but chose to wait, sometimes up to 40 years. We shouldn't be discouraged when we have to wait, these men waited, and their prayers were answered in miraculous ways.

When God seems to be saying "No," it might be He is really saying "Not yet" or "I have a better yes for you." This is difficult when you feel your prayers are already being answered and then the answer is taken away. I don't know if God is saying "You're not ready yet" or promising to replace it with something better, but I do know each time we are made to wait our faith is being tested and strengthened. When we are dependent upon God we build spiritual muscle and are being perfected in our struggles.

Waiting is difficult. Praying the same prayer for years or crying the same tears can make it seem like God is no longer listening. Feeling all alone, where even God isn't answering, is heartbreaking, but it isn't reality. The reality is God loves you very much and is answering your prayers, but sometimes the answers to our prayers take time and we have to wait. I have found that after my prayers were finally answered I understood why I needed to wait for the answers, but even so I still struggle with waiting.

Especially right now, having so fully enjoyed an answered prayer only to have the answer removed from my life and given to someone else. I can't understand why my answer was taken away, I don't know if my answer will come back, and I am having difficulty processing these changes, but I know if God is asking me to wait it is for a reason.