WAITING FOR GOD (Part Two)

In our last blog we said that God is always working in our lives, but sometimes He doesn’t move as fast as we would like. That puts us in the position of having to wait. Last time we said that when we are waiting on God there are four things we shouldn’t do. We talked about the first two – don’t fear and don’t fret. Today we are going to talk about the final two.
The third thing God says is don’t faint.
When we go through the delays of life, God says don’t get discouraged. Don’t lose heart. Don’t give up – in other words – don’t faint. This was the third mistake the Israelites made, and it kept them out of the promised land. Take a look at Numbers 14:2, 4.
“Their voices rose in a great chorus of protest against Moses and Aaron. “If only we had died in Egypt, or even here in the wilderness!” they complained.”…….
Wouldn’t it be better for us to return to Egypt?” …….
Then they plotted among themselves, “Let’s choose a new leader and go back to Egypt!” Numbers 14:2, 4
The Jews gave up on their dream. They looked at their circumstances and forgot what God had called them to do.They decided it was better to go back to slavery – or even die in the desert.The expressions, “If only” and “go back”, are statements of discouragement. They are signs of losing heart – fainting if you will. When we get a dream from God, and it doesn’t happen immediately, we start second guessing ourselves. “Maybe I didn’t really hear from God. “Maybe I just made this up.” “Maybe God is not listening, and He doesn’t care.” “If only I’d done something different.” That’s second guessing – that’s fainting.
And here’s the capper – we say let’s go back to where we were before. You know when we get into a delay phase of life, we often idealize the past. We think about the good old days – which really weren’t that good. The only thing good about them is they’re over. The grass isn’t greener on that side of the fence – it’s only greener where you water it. The good old days always look better in hind sight. So when we encounter delays, we often want to give up and go back.
You know some people would rather live in slavery than face the fear of freedom. They are not willing to work on problems, and they give up. They are really settling for mediocrity, because they don’t want God’s best for their lives. When they are going through a dark tunnel they retreat, instead of pushing through to the other side.They faint, and they draw back. Take a look at Galatians 6:9:
“Let us never grow tired of doing what’s right, for if we do not faint, we’ll reap a harvest at the right time.” Galatians 6:9
This passage refers to what is called the law of the harvest. The law of the harvest says you reap what you sow.If you sow criticism, you reap criticism. If you sow love, you reap love. If you sow generosity, you reap generosity. It’s a law of the universe. But in the law of the harvest there is always a delay between sowing and reaping. There’s always a season. You plant in one season, and you reap in another, and there is a delay in between. God wants to us to hang in there, so the harvest can come. Take a look at what Calvin Coolidge once said.
“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not. There is nothing more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not. Unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not. The world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan `Press on’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.”
Jesus said the same thing 2000 years earlier. Take a look at Luke 18:1:
“You need to pray continually and not lose heart.” Luke 18:1
Praying continually and not losing heart are mutually exclusive. You can’t do them both at the same time. If you pray continually, you WILL NOT lose heart. But if you don’t pray continually, you WILL lose heart, and you WILL faint. Take a look at Isaiah 40:31:
“They that wait upon the Lord, shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings, as eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31  
The last thing God says is don’t forget.
When we are in the waiting period, we tend to lose focus, and sometimes we forget God. We forget what He’s done in the past. We forget His goodness. We forget He’s always with us.We forget His power. And we become distracted with our problems.
That was the fourth mistake the Israelites made in the desert. Take a look at Psalm 106:7:
“Our ancestors in Egypt were not impressed by the Lord’s miraculous deeds. They soon forgot his many acts of kindness to them. Instead, they rebelled against him at the Red Sea.” Psalm 106:7
The Jews left Egypt and made it to the Red Sea where they got trapped. Then they panicked and forgot about God. It’s unbelievable how short their memory was. In Egypt God precipitated ten plagues against the Egyptians, but He protected the Jews from their effects. And now it’s a couple days later, and they’re at the Red Sea and they are saying “We’re all going to die!” They forgot what God had just done. So God performed another miracle, and He opened the Red Sea, and they walked through to the other side.And then when they got out in the desert, they forget God again. They ran out of water and they said, “Oh we’re going to die of thirst!” And God provided water. And then they promptly forget about that and complained about having no food.”We’re going to die of starvation!” And God provided food. They were always forgetting what God had just done.
But we shouldn’t be too quick to judge them, because we do the exactly same thing. When a delay occurs in our lives, we start acting like God has never done anything for us. Have you ever done that? Take a look at Psalm 103:2-5:
“Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things He does for me. He forgives my sins and heals all my diseases. He redeems me from death and crowns me with love and tender mercies. He fills my life with good things. My youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” Psalm 103:2-5
Let me ask you, have you ever looked at the promises of God? There are over 7000 of them in the Bible. When we have a problem, we can find a promise that applies, and we can plead it. Have you ever done that? Well, you might say, “I have tried using the promises, but God doesn’t seem to respond.” Well, it may be that He’s waiting on you. You might think you’re waiting on God, but it might be just the reverse. He may be waiting for you to not fear, or not fret, or not faint, or not forget. God wants to develop our character, and sometimes He uses delays to teach us these essential truths. When we find ourselves in that kind of situation, we need to ask God, “What are you trying to teach me?” “I have plead your promises, and You don’t seem to be responding.””What do I need to learn?” And when God replies – which He will always do – remember it. That’s why maintaining a journal is such an important exercise. It helps us not to forget.
Ok, let me close by asking you a question. Are you waiting on God right now to do something? Are you waiting for Him to help you solve a problem. “To answer a prayer? Maybe even do the impossible. Maybe you are struggling financially or physically or some other way.
Maybe you’ve been waiting on God to bring that right person into your life. Maybe you’ve been waiting on God to help you deal with a crisis. Maybe you think God hasn’t heard you or may have forgotten you. Let me tell you He has heard you and He hasn’t forgotten you. God’s delays are not God’s denials. I recommend that you spend some time alone with God. Think about what he had done for you in the past 6 months. You really don’t have to go much further back than that. And then praise Him and thank Him for what He’s done. Remember Psalm 103:2-5. And as you do this –  watch what happens to your current situation.I guarantee you will be absolutely astonished…………………………….