WAIT by Russell Kelfer

Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried;
Quietly, patiently, lovingly, God replied.
I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate….
And the Master so gently said, “WAIT.”

“WAIT? You say WAIT?” My indignant reply,

“Lord, I need answers, I need to know why!
Is Your hand shortened? 
Or have You not heard?”
By faith I have asked, and I’m claiming Your Word.

My future and all to which I relate
Hangs in the balance and You tell me to “WAIT?”
I’m needing a ‘yes’, and go-ahead sign.
Or even a ‘no’, to which I’ll resign.

You promised, dear Lord, that if we believe,

We need but to ask, and we shall receive.
Lord, I’ve been asking, and this is my cry:
I’m weary of asking! I need a reply.

Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate

As my Master replied again, “WAIT.”
So I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut,
And grumbled to God, “So, I’m waiting…. For what?”

He seemed then to kneel, and His eyes met with mine…

And tenderly said, “I could give you a sign.
I could shake the heavens and darken the sun.
I could raise the dead and cause the mountains to run.

I could give all you seek and pleased you would be.

You’d have what you want, but you wouldn’t know Me.
You’d not know the depth of My love for each Saint.
You’d not know the Power that I give to the faint.

You’d not learn to see through the clouds of despair;

You’d not learn to trust just by knowing I’m there.
You’d not know the joy of resting in Me.
When darkness and silence are all you can see.

You’d never experience the fullness of love.

When the peace of My spirit descends like a dove.
You would know that I give, and I save, for a start,
But you’d not know the depth of the beat of My heart.

The glow of My comfort late in the night,

The faith that I give when you walk without sight.
The depth that’s beyond getting just what you ask
From an infinite God who makes what you have last.

You’d never know should your pain quickly flee,

What it means that My grace is sufficient for thee.
Yes, your dearest dreams overnight would come true,
But oh, the loss if I lost what I’m doing in you.

So, be silent, my child, and in time you will see.

That the greatest of gifts is to truly know Me.
And through oft My answers seem terribly late,
My most precious answer of all is still, “WAIT.”

Mark-Time

When I was in the U.S. Army boot camp, one of the "skills" they taught us was, "Mark-Time". That is where you march in place. Your boots never stop moving but you have no forward momentum. Honestly, everytime I had to "Mark-Time", it annoyed me because I could not see any advantage of stomping in one place and not going anywhere.

Today's spiritual take-away is pretty simple:
"There are days when it doesn't seem like we are gaining on our goals, but it is important to have faith that God is at work behind the scenes."

Some days God expects you to stop pushing because everything happens on His time schedule - not ours.

Remember this:
"God's will is never late, never early, always right on time".

For me, one of the most terribly difficult things that God commands us to do is:
"Wait". Psalm 46:10, "Be still and know that I am God".

I am NOT good at waiting. I am more the Tylenol push through the pain kinda guy.

Have you ever shown up for work and slaved all day, only to find that you were unable to finish anything? The whole day was pretty much a bust.

On the other hand, have you ever moseyed through your day at half speed and at the end of day, found every single project finished and complete? How did that happen?

Everything in God's time.

If you read the Gospels (the 1st four books in the New Testament), you will find that Jesus repeatedly said, "Not now, now is not my time". Jesus was working on His Father's timetable, not His own.

This principle should offer you perspective. If Jesus was working on His Father's timetable, how much more should we be aware of living within our Heavenly Father's schedule.

I am going to speculate here on a couple of reasons that God's timetable may demand that you occasionally "Mark-Time" and wait for His command to proceed.

#1. God is working in someone's life and needs more time to work.
God uses circumstances, events and people to bring about life change in people. Of course, it goes without saying that God also utilizes the Holy Spirit and His Word but if someone has a hard heart or a closed mind to God's voice, sometimes He works behind the scenes to soften their heart or open their minds.

#2. God wants to grow your faith.
OUCH. This is never an easy experience.
"Dear brothers and sisters,
when troubles come your way,
consider it an opportunity for great joy.
For you know that when your faith is tested,
your endurance has a chance to grow.
So let it grow, for when your endurance
is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete,
needing nothing." James 1:2-3

"So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord.  Remember the great reward it brings you!  Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will.  Then you will receive all that he has promised." Hebrews 10:35-36