When To Move . . . When To Wait: Part 1
Moving ahead in God’s strength:
David didn’t spend time waiting to slay Goliath—
after gathering five stones for his slingshot—he attacked.
(See 1 Samuel 17:32.)
Lazarus didn’t linger in the tomb when he heard Christ’s
voice—he came out immediately. (See Luke 11:43-44.)
When Jesus called Peter and Andrew, they “left
their nets at once” (Matthew 4:20 NLT).
Waiting patiently in God’s strength:
When God promised Hannah a son, she trusted His Word and
waited for the promise to be fulfilled. (See 1 Samuel 1.)
After bombarding God with an entire chapter of questions,
Habakkuk climbed his watchtower and patiently waited for
God to speak. (See Habakkuk 1-2.)
When David was only a teenager, he knew God had
appointed him to become the king of Israel, but he
waited years for God to make it happen.
When God tells us to GO, we need to move forward immediately.
But when He tells us to WAIT, the worst thing we can do is to move
ahead on our own.
Those who act impatiently always have to deal with the
consequences on moving forward outside of God’s timing.
Saul got tired of waiting on God’s chosen leader Samuel to sacrifice
the burnt offering, and he directly disobeyed God by offering it
himself:
“Saul waited there seven days for Samuel, as Samuel had
instructed him earlier, but Samuel still didn’t come. So he demanded,
‘Bring me the burnt offering and the peace offerings!’ And Saul
sacrificed the burnt offering himself” (1 Samuel 13:8-9 NLT).
Consequence: The kingdom was taken away from him.
Sarah got tired of waiting on God to fulfill His promise to give her a
son, so she gave her servant, Hagar, to her husband, Abraham, to
conceive and have a son for her.
Consequence: Ishmael (son through Hagar and Abraham) and
Isaac (God’s promised son through Sarah and Abraham 25 years
later), became two rivaling people groups who are still at war today
(Muslims and Jews).
So . . . how do know when to move and when to wait?
Great question!
We’ll continue this chat next week, March 26.
Thoughts?
Want to share how you’ve discerned the difference of when to wait on
God and when to move forward in His strength?
Take My Hand . . . Stay a While
Many times when Jesus healed someone in the Bible,
He told them to get up or to go after He had touched them.
He performed the miracle of healing and was simply on His way.
But other times, He did just the opposite:
He took their hand.
It seems as though He wanted to savor the moment.
Here are a few examples:
• When Jesus brings Jairus’ daughter back to life: “Jesus took her by
the hand. . . .” (Luke 8:54 NLT).
• When He healed the 10 lepers, He asked the one who returned
where the other nine were (Luke 17:11-19).
• After Jesus healed the blind, mute demoniac, He lingered while the
healed man spoke to the crowd (Luke 11:14-23).
So sometimes after God ministers to us, He wants us to GO, yet
other times He wants us to wait . . . to hold His hand . . . to simply
BE with Him.
The question is: How do we know when to do what?
Last week, when I wrote about going, Sherry left this remark in the
comments section: “It’s so hard to discern between ‘get up and go’
or ‘be still and wait!’ ”
She makes a great point, doesn’t she?
Know this: It won’t be the same for us each time we hear from God.
(We’ll chat more about this next week.)
But we can rest assured that God’s will is not a mystery.
He’s not playing the guessing game with us.
He wants us to know His will even more than we want to know it!
Remember, however, that He is not on our timetable.
You’ve heard the old saying, “God is never early—but He’s never
late.”
When you’re trying to decide whether to “stay still” or to “go,”
saturate yourself in prayer. It’s a FACT . . . He will guide you.
Thoughts?
Care to share how God has guided you?
I’d appreciate your prayers March 16-21 as I speak in Newcastle, IN.
Get Going!
Many times when Jesus healed someone in the Bible,
He told them to get up or to go after He had touched them.
• The paralyzed man at the pool of Bethesda (John 5).“Get up.”
• Another paralytic man in Matthew 9. “Get up.”
• The woman with the diseased blood (Luke 8). “Go in peace.”
• A leper (Mark 1). “Go.”
• The blind man (Mark 8). “Jesus sent him . . .”
• A man who was born blind (John 9). “Go.”
• The man who had dropsy (Luke 14). “He sent him on his way.”
• The 10 lepers (Luke 17). “Go.”
In each of the above situations, Jesus didn’t hold their hands
and pull them up or guide them home. He healed them—
and in His strength, they moved.
But THEY had to move.
Often we pray about a specific area in our lives in which we
desire God to work. He’s always willing to help us—but that doesn’t
mean He will do the moving FOR us. He wants US to get up.
He brought Lazarus back to life, but He didn’t carry him out of the
grave. “Lazarus, come forth!” Lazarus had to get up and go.
Is there something you’ve been praying about but haven’t actually put
your prayer into action? It could be that God has touched you, but
NOW you need to respond by moving.
Thoughts?
Please pray for me this week as I speak in Science Hill, KY.