WAKE UP AMERICA!

Don’t panic.  This is not a political post.  I turned the TV on and the announcer was saying, “Wake Up America.”  What I heard was “Wake Up, Mary.”  I wonder what I am supposed to wake up to.  What news flash am I to hear?  What needs to be pointed out?  Have I not been listening — again?  What ………..  WAIT?  PATIENT ?

WAIT:  to be ready and available or a state or attitude of watchfulness and expectancy.

PATIENT:  bearing pains or trials calmly or without complaint, steadfast despite opposition, difficulty, or adversity

Oh great.  Two things I would rather avoid.  I hate to wait and I am not the most patient person.  Maybe — no maybe about it — I need to work on this.  It is scriptural.  God uses this time of waiting for HIS reasons.  BUT how do I do this?  How do I wait and be patient?

MY BODY HURTS! MANY PEOPLE ARE IN CONSTANT PAIN.  How do we wait and be patient when pain can make it hard to function? Hard to even think rationally.

What strength do I have, that I should still hope? What prospects, that I should be patient?          Job 6:11

THE WORLD IS GOING CRAZY! WRONG IS BEING CALLED RIGHT.  How do I wait when Satan is attacking our children? Our churches.  Why doesn’t God fix this?

Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.         Psalms 27:14

I WANT IT NOW! WHY SHOULD I WAIT? Our society is becoming an instant society.  If we can get the latest gadget instantly, why won’t God give me what I want now?

But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.     Romans 8:25

WHAT DO I LEARN WHILE WAITING?

Now my answer might be nothing except frustration.  That is not the correct answer.  There are more than four reasons, but I found this article helpful.  Here are four good reasons we have to wait:

• Growth — we are still being shaped and molded
• Protection — often, we are stopped from making the wrong decisions
• It is a test — are we wanting what we want or what God wants
• Purify us — what needs to be refined out of us

 https://outreachmagazine.com/resources/81080-reasons-for-the-waiting.html

This is a great summary from the link below.

Waiting means submitting to his glory.  Waiting means understanding that you were given life and breath for the glory of another.  Waiting gives you opportunity to forsake the delusion of your own glory and rest in the God of awesome glory.  Only when you do that will you find what you seek, and what you were meant to have: lasting identity, meaning, purpose, and peace in Christ.  In this way waiting is much more than a burden for you to bear; it is a precious gift for you to receive with joy.

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/5-reasons-why-god-calls-us-to-wait/

WAIT?  BE PATIENT?  I really need to “Wake Up Mary.”  I have been doing this wait thing all wrong.  I have never looked at waiting as a precious gift.  Who knew…..