The Gift of Waiting

Intro

Opening Illustration

Aaron Rodgers is in the discussion of all time best QBs to ever play the game. Aaron Rodgers currently ranks number one in passer rating ever, his ranking is a score of 104.93 the next closest is Steve Young at 96.81 and Tom Brady at 96.62. Yet Rodgers’ career didn’t start off with a bunch of glamor. No, Aaron Rodgers sat behind the legend Brett Farve for three years after being drafted. Aaron yet Aaron Rodgers used those three years the best he could. He is quoted as saying.

- Aaron Rodgers: “I got to sit behind a legend for three years, and see what greatness looked like first-hand. That's an experience that changed my life forever."

The Lord loves to have his children go through seasons of waiting. The proof is found all across scripture.

Abraham- Waited 25 years for God to fulfill his promise concerning Isaac

Joseph-Waited 13 years while in slavery, wrongfully jailed before being elevated to second in command in all of Egypt.

Moses- spent 40 years in the wilderness growing and maturing in faith before God appeared to him through the burning bush and called him to lead the people of God out of Egypt.

King David-waited 13 years for his kingship to be established after his anointing. He lived as a fugitive hunted and haunted by Saul.

Elijah spent an extended period of time in God’s waiting room waiting for God to use him.

6. Paul—No exception, spent at least five to six years in Tarsus, living in the shadows. He wasn’t in the spot light and we know very little about his life during this time. Then Barnabas comes looking for Paul in Acts 11:25-26

Passage Acts 11:25-26

Acts 11:25–26 (NASB95)

25 And he left for Tarsus to look for Saul;

26 and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. And for an entire year they met with the church and taught considerable numbers; and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.

What becomes clear looking at how God moves in most of the lives of the extraordinary men of the Bible, they all had seasons of waiting on the Lord. And in those seasons they all grew in faith and in their walk with the Lord.

Thus, “Exceptional work is preceded by extended waiting.”

Paul’s life was no exception to this rule. Reading the Bible chapter after chapter, we can lose track of the sense of time from one passage to the next. As a result, we can get the idea that God’s hand and movement are faster than it is.

Which is why putting years next to each of these seasons of waiting is so helpful to us.

For example, Moses’ life of ministry didn’t begin until 80. We are about to see how many seasoned men we have with us today. Just raise your hand if you are 80 or older? (Doubt it many, some yes)

That mean’s all of who cannot raise our hands haven’t even been alive as long as Moses was before he was called to be used by God to lead the Hebrew people out of Egypt.

Personal Story:

I was saved at the age of 16 years old, three years later at 19 years old I felt God’s calling to ministry on my life, I’d serve in lay positions, behind the scenes, an internship, and all the while I was frustrated. I longed to be used by God to take the world by storm to lead thousands of people to Jesus. Yet, I felt shelved and forgotten. I was working in the secular world.

Then I heard a message from David Platt. He said, until we are a blank check for God willing to do the most trivial of work for God’s glory, he will not use us to our fullest potential. I wrote in my journal, “Lord, I am a blank check, wherever you call I will go, no matter how small the call seems, no matter how far away it is, no matter how low I must be, I will go. I desire to serve you faithfully no matter the road.

It would be only a few months after that prayer, and continued praying of that same prayer for my life that God would begin to open the door for Katherine and I to enter into full-time ministry in a small town in rural Tennessee.

It wasn’t the “glamour” or “fan fair” I dreamed of as a young student looking up to great men of faith like Adrian Rogers, Billy Graham, David Platt’s and so many others I looked up to and aspired to be as young aspiring leader.

So, when the storms came and the trials of ministry fell into the life of Katherine and I, I was taken back. I made many mistakes and was so thankful for the love and support of my student ministry team. They lovingly helped me through so much and it was a blessing.

It was through my time there God really pushed me to grow in so many ways. But one of the most important things I learned while serving there, I do not need a big platform to impact the world for Christ. It’s never about me or my wants, ministry and faithfully pursuing Christ is all about remaining humbly submitted to the Lord and patiently waiting on the Lord to open doors and use me as he sees fit.

So, I’d like to give us four principles we can rest in when in seasons of waiting. The first is,

1. Seasons of waiting enlarges patience.

Psalm 37:7 NASB95

7 Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes.

The Lord is worth waiting on. Patience might be one of the hardest disciplines of faith for believers in this age of the world. We live in the fast food, microwave, instant gratification society. If we have to wait, we become anxious and unruly. We tend to jump to respond or to correct issues without giving them the dedicated thought and prayer needed to have a proper response to the issue at hand. If we are delayed in our travel because of construction or heavy traffic, we become impatient and irritated. If we had the opportunity to snap ourselves around town instantly, we would because it would save time.

Yet, God has a way to slow us down or take things out of our hands so we have to wait on God and his timing.

Does God have you in a season of waiting to enlarge your patience?

Maybe you are waiting for a job offer.

Maybe you are waiting and hoping to begin your family with your first child.

Maybe you are waiting and praying for treatment for an illness to begin working to heal you or a loved one.

Maybe you are waiting for God to save your child or grand child and you are asking God what is taking so long for them to see you.

Our seasons of waiting are different but they have the same goal to improve our patience.

2. Seasons of waiting establishes humility.

Psalm 91:1 NASB95

1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

When we are in seasons of waiting, we recognize that the things taking place are out of our control. We men are oftentimes natural “fixers” we want to fix everything we can no matter what the situation is we want to make it better. I’m 100% a natural “fixer” I see issues and I want to fix it as quickly as I can and move on. I grew up in a house with two parents who were fixers as well. We had a practice that no one goes to bed without conflicts being resolved. So, at an early age, I learned the importance of jumping in and fixing things when needed. But, I wasn’t prepared for when things weren’t fixable. My first introduction to this was as a high school student. My father was self-employed and when the economy crashed, we lost nearly everything. We were left with no home and we weren’t sure God was going to provide for our family to get through the financial crises.

My heart broke for my dad and mom. I could see the stress. But God continued to show up time and again. He saw us through. It took time and patience but God provided for us in that great time of waiting and uncertainty.

Another time was when Katherine and I went through our first miscarriage. We were devastated. I felt helpless and humbled. Only God was in-control and unsurprised with the trial we faced. So, we leaned in on God allow him to give us strength and hope for tomorrow.

Seasons of waiting establishes humility in our lives.

3. Seasons of waiting expands faith.

Psalm 62:5 NASB95

5 My soul, wait in silence for God only, For my hope is from Him.

Isaiah 49:23 ESV

23 Kings shall be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. With their faces to the ground they shall bow down to you, and lick the dust of your feet. Then you will know that I am the Lord; those who wait for me shall not be put to shame.”

In seasons of waiting, our faith has the opportunity to grow most significantly. Paul’s life showed great maturity and growth in his season of obscurity and waiting on the Lord to use him. He’d been called to be the Lord’s Apostle to the Gentiles; yet, he was in Tarsus. He wasn’t on the mission field. He was not moving mountains; but, he was faithful.

In the silence of waiting, are you resting your hope on the Lord? You’ve recognized that you are not alone in it, God is with you but, you just haven’t truly allowed your faith and hope to fully rest in Jesus in the circumstance. Will you place your faith in Jesus to move in the mountain that’s facing you?

Seasons of waiting allows us to have our faith grown.

4. Seasons of waiting enhances effectiveness.

Psalm 37:34 NASB95

34 Wait for the Lord and keep His way, And He will exalt you to inherit the land; When the wicked are cut off, you will see it.

Isaiah 40:31 ESV

31 but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

The fourth principle shows the ultimate reward of spending our time in the seasons of waiting for the Lord allowing God to grow us. Paul did not waste his years in the shadow of God’s movement across the region. He allowed God to deepen his faith, equip him with the boldness needed for the journey that laid ahead, and submitted his whole life to God’s service. Paul’s life was changed on the road to Damascus, his life equipped in his season of waiting after his conversion, and he was boldly sold out for Christ forevermore.

At the beginning, we outlined all the great men of faith that God used for extraordinary movements and uses for God’s glory. None of their stories would be complete without the season of waiting on God to move in their lives and to fulfill the calling God placed on each of their lives.

In every seasons, God’s hand is in it and using it so that we can be the strongest slave for Christ we can possibly be. So when the season of waiting comes remember that God is using it to:

Enlarge patience in us

Establish Humility in us.

Expand our faith in him.

Enhance our effectiveness for his kingdom.

Let’s ask God to bless our seasons of waiting for God to move in our lives.