Wait on God | Be Still...

2 Peter 3:8-13 – God’s Timing

Read 2 Peter 3:8-13

Have you ever heard someone say, “God’s timing is perfect”? I did, just today. It’s a phrase we like to use when God seems slow in answering our prayers. Peter calls out that big old elephant in the room for us. He starts out by explaining that God’s clock works differently than ours. “A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day.”

Is that a helpful reminder for you? Are you waiting on God for something big in your life to happen? It seems like we are always waiting for something, whether it’s a job promotion, finding the right house to move into, getting pregnant, getting married, being able to retire and start living life the way you want. What is it for you? When we welcome God and expect him to move in these life events, we can trust he is working out the “best” solution for us. Could that be why one of the gifts of the spirit is “patience”? We must continue to wait.

Habakkuk 2:1-20 – Wide Awake Faith

Read Habakkuk 2:1-20

Two things stuck out to me today. First, how Habakkuk waited faithfully for God to answer. And second, how the oracles in God’s response point to not only what to look for (“what sorrow awaits you”) but also give us wisdom in what behaviors to avoid. As readers, we are encouraged to also be patient.

How are you waiting for God? Do you sit quietly, or do you busy yourself hoping you’ll hear God’s voice through all the noise?

Luke 23:56 – While We Wait

Read Luke 23:56

Jesus has died. His body has been carefully laid in Joseph’s new tomb. The women know where that is, and they hurry now to prepare the burial spices. But it’s too late now since the Sabbath is about to begin. They are going to have to wait. I can just imagine how hard it was for them to wait. Even a few hours would make a big difference in the decay of a corpse. Still, their tradition would have them wait.

They didn’t know to be waiting for the resurrection. We have that knowledge, and yet we are still in a waiting pattern, aren’t we? Our wait to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus on Easter morning is only a short wait. But the wait we have for Jesus’ promised return is much longer. How long, we have no idea. We just need to patiently wait with faithful expectation.

James 5:7-12 – Patiently Waiting

Read James 5:7-12

What are you waiting on right now? Maybe it’s news from the doctor on a test. Maybe it’s a box of goodies in the mail. Maybe it’s that vacation you just booked. We all share in the wait for Jesus’ return, and James calls it out plain as day in this text. Are you feeling patient today? James said, “Take courage, for the coming of the Lord is near.”

James has us think about farmers. Think of the patience it requires to plant seeds every spring and then wait. Wait to see if the seeds sprout like they’re supposed to. Wait to see if the rains come at just the right time. Wait for storms to pass so you can assess the damage. Wait for the crops to be ready for harvest. That’s a lot of waiting. But farmers accept the wait. They know it’s all part of the plan.

Jeremiah 42:1-22 – Ask God First

Read Jeremiah 42:1-22

Ask Knock Matthew 7 words against sun shining through clouds

Is it easier to ask permission or seek forgiveness? I can remember as a youth wanting to do something that instinctively I knew my parents would forbid. So, if I were to go through with it, I’d be asking for forgiveness instead. That is certainly not easy! While I was a rebellious teen, I did try to ask for permission as often as possible!

In our passage today, we see the leaders seeking God’s input to their situation. The people approached Jeremiah and asked him to pray to God. That’s a good thing, isn’t it? But it was almost as if their fingers were crossed behind their backs. They were putting on a good show, weren’t they?