There have been times in my life when I have prayed for a breakthrough, only to be left with silence. Now, I could have easily mistaken God's silence for an unanswered prayer, or a simple no. But I did not. I continued to pray. The Bible says if we pray anything according to His will, He hears our prayers and He will give us whatever we ask. (1 John 5:14-15) God is always true to His promises. It is not His will for us to live in defeat. It is not His will for our marriages to suffer, for our children to become sick, for our joy to be taken from us, or for the Church to loose hope.
Waiting upon the Lord is a difficult task; but it is a task that must not to be taken lightly, for in due time, it will produce perseverance and reap a harvest. (James 1:3) Waiting will strengthen our faith while giving us a hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11) It will position us for breakthrough.
In an age where everything is at our fingertips and answers are so readily available, waiting has become unfavorable and quite tedious. As a result, we have allowed perseverance to become a thing of the past; something intended for our ancestors or the great heroes of the Bible, but never for us.
Dive into the book of Psalms and you'll soon discover a broken and desperate man. A man who was destined to become a King. A man chosen by God. Yet it was during his weakest most difficult moments - hiding out in a cave waiting for his destiny to be fulfilled, while death was knocking on his door - that he displayed the character and meaning of being called a man after God's own heart. David knew all too well what it meant to wait in the darkness.
There were countless others who faced similar situations...
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were tossed into a fiery furnace for refusing to worship anyone but the One True God (Daniel 3:12-29).
Daniel was thrown into the lion's den for praying and fasting (Daniel 6:3-23).
Queen Esther faced possible death at the hands of her own husband - in hopes of saving her people (Esther 4:1-17).
All of these heroes and heroines of the Bible were saved by God's grace. All of them had one thing in common. They had to wait. They had to put their trust in the Lord and wait upon His perfect timing, despite their circumstances.
If we are not careful this waiting game will leave us tired, restless, anxious, and longing for the things of this world. It will render us helpless and defeated. It will allow the enemy to play with the strings of our hearts, causing doubt, bitterness, and fear. Nothing is wrong with these feelings. We were created to be emotional beings, but if we stay in self-destructive thoughts too long, they can destroy us.
Look at the life of David. He felt many of these emotions, but he always went back to the Lord. David turned his sorrow into praise and thanksgiving. He relied on God to deliver him from his enemies. He sought forgiveness. David waited for God to release him into his destiny. Though he could not see it, he believed it. He waited during trials and tribulations and he trusted in the Lord.
Scripture tells us Saul, who relentlessly pursued David, did the complete opposite and it drove him crazy. He became bitter and jealous to the point of total destruction. Saul fell out of favor and lost everything close to him (1 Samuel 20:30-34).
So let us follow David's example as it is written in Psalms 13:1-6, NIV...
"How long, Lord? Will you forget me
forever?
How long will you hide your face from
me?
How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over
me?
Look on me and answer, Lord my God.
Give light to my eyes or I will sleep in
death,
and my enemy will say, 'I have overcome
him,'
and my foes will rejoice when I fall.
But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.
I will sing the Lord's praise,
for he has been good to me."
Too often we have believed the lie that God is angry with us, and because of His anger, He is refusing to acknowledge our cries. This is a lie from Satan. The enemy wants to condemn the world and keep us from having a relationship with the one true God - the only One who can save us. The enemy wants you lost and without hope. Satan is quietly whispering, "God won't save you. He will not rescue you. He doesn't love you. You are alone. I may not have been able to defeat your God on the cross, but I will defeat you in the flesh." Or worse, "There is no God, which means there is no hope."
I have heard countless stories from all over the world of men and women who placed their hope and trust in the Lord. It was by faith and perseverance that they were able to experience the miracles of God. Their testimonies vary from the sick being healed; to lions circling around a tent in the Sahara desert - while missionaries were inside praying; to a young missionary who was held captive by the Taliban during 9/11 and used by the terrorist group as a negotiating piece with the United States during the war. All were rescued and all survived. Like David hiding out in the wilderness, they too, had to wait for God to overcome their enemies. These missionaries will tell you that God is still in the business of miracles AND He is STILL on the throne!
I cannot tell you how many times I have personally witnessed answered prayers and miraculous healings. I have seen first hand the glorious works of God!
So do not wait in vain my brothers and sisters, for God is training up soldiers and preparing His children - His warriors, for the final battle, where an everlasting victory will call us home.
Chelsea Carpenter
Scripture Reference:
"Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see." (Hebrews 11:1; NIV)
"But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently." (Romans 8:25; NIV)