In his series Waiting on God, Pastor Jeff Vines challenges us to wait patiently on God when we don’t know what His will is. Most of us want God to open up the windows of heaven and pour out His blessings on us.
But it is usually something specific that we have cried out to God for. Jeff poses the question, If God wants desperately to give his children good gifts, what do we do when we feel like He’s not delivering?
Jeff begins, “The first thing we often do is ask God why? Our experience does not match up to the God we know. So we tell Him that we’re waiting for our blessing and wonder why He’s silent.”
Jeff believes that the first thing you must do when the blessed life hasn’t come your way is wait. Wait patiently. And none of us wants to do that!
“You don’t go away, and you don’t stop asking,” Jeff says. “There will come a time when you will see exactly why God took you through that season of your life. Patience is a deliberate action, and it is born out of humility. When you feel like the blessing isn’t coming, respond well when it doesn’t come. Learn to surrender your own sense of omniscience because you are not God.”
Jeff also feels strongly that God sends us through hard times, so that we can minister and care for others suffering the same thing. We want to be in control our own lives. But we need to learn to take one day at a time and trust the Lord.
“Stop trying to figure out God why the blessed life is not coming your way,” Jeff continues. “You can either become bitter when you don’t have what you think you deserve, or you can wait on God who knows better than you do.”
“You have to put your problems in perspective of everything you know to be true about God”.
Jeff encourages us that our present sufferings are nothing compared to the glory the awaits us. The only sickness that can destroy us is sin. When God comes, everything is going to be made right. Will you still love God, even when you feel like you are getting nothing from Him?
“You wait patiently because one day Jesus is coming, and everything will be made well. Wait with humility and with perspective and a deep love of God,” Jeff continues. “Do you love God, or do you love your stuff? You can’t use God to get what you truly want; because God should be the only thing you truly want. You have to come to God to get God, not to get things. Do you love God when you’re not getting anything in return? Are you in a relationship with God for you to serve Him, or for Him to serve you?”
Jeff goes on to say that the glory of the Lord will be revealed. If you’re looking for the blessed life, what is the best gift God could give you? The greatest gift that God can give you is Himself, but its only in the difficult times that you run to Him.
The blessed life comes as a result of going through the valley before you reach the mountain top. That’s how we learn to seek God above all else. That’s when God reveals himself.
You’ll never know that Jesus is all you need until Jesus is all you have.
Jeff comments, “The truly blessed life is what happens to us while we’re waiting for the blessed life to come.”