Hurry Up and Wait!

Isaiah 49:23 "Then you will know that I am the Lord, For they shall not be ashamed who wait for Me."

Have you ever said to God…”Hurry up….only to hear Him answer, “…Wait. We are always in a hurry aren’t we? It’s fast food, instant messaging, and the microwave. I used to put my food in the oven and wait for it. These days, I decline to purchase a meal if it takes longer than 2 minutes to prepare in the microwave. I’ve found no satisfaction to use the mail service at Netflix anymore. I want the instant stream from the internet right to my television. I don’t want to have to wait the extra day to get my favorite movie to watch. The fact is, we want what we want, and we want it right now.

This concept of waiting has been on my heart for a couple days now. I’ve come to realize, I am not that great at waiting on God. I am impatient, demanding, and always being reigned back in to wait for God. I was driving home today from my bible study, and literally at every stop light I was jotting down revelation at the Lord gave it to me. Since it’s been a long time since I’ve written, I hope to bless you with what the Lord revealed to me today.

There are three things that stood out to me as the Lord poured revelation into my heart:

1. Everything has an appointed time.
2. It’s essential to wait on the Lord for the appointed time.
3. It’s absolutely necessary to be ready when He calls.

I have many times been impatient with the Lord and nagged God to Hurry Up! It’s like holding back a race horse when they open the shoot. But contrary to what I think, Scripture is filled with examples of God having an appointed time to accomplish His will and His purposes.

Genesis 18:14 Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son. God had an appointed time for Sarah to receive her promise to conceive her baby. Sarah’s appointed time came when she was 90 years old!

John 5:4 For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had. There is an appointed time that God heals. And for this man who had an infirmity for 38 years, this appointed time of God’s healing touch was what he had been waiting for.

John 7:8 You go up to the feast. I am not yet going up to this feast, for My time has not yet fully come. There was an appointed time for Jesus to go into Jerusalem, suffer, be crucified, and an appointed time that He rose from the dead on the third day. This amazing event was to happen at a special time and it happened not one second before it was supposed to. He waited for His appointed time, and therefore, it accomplished all that it was meant to.

These great men and women of faith had an appointed time and they waited for that appointed time. Abraham was considered to be righteous because He knew God who promised, was faithful to deliver that promise. And after waiting 91 years, Sarah received her promise. The man with the infirmity sat at the pool day after day waiting for his miracle. He had waited 38 years for his appointed time and his miraculous healing and God delivered not one minute too late. Jesus waited 33 years for His appointed time. He did not go ahead a second before His appointed time. He waited for the Father to give direction and He followed and delivered our promise.

As we wait on the Lord, we can wait with expectancy. 2Peter The Lord is not slack concerning His promise. God will deliver, but we must see we have an appointed time, wait for our time, and be ready when He calls.

Exodus 12:11 And thus you shall eat it: with a belt on your waist your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. So you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord’s Passover. He wore his belt and had his shoes on and a staff in his hand. Why do you think he had his shoes on and his staff? Because after he was done eating the Passover, he was planning to go. He was ready, with his belt, shoes and his staff. He was prepared to leave.

Matthew 25:3-8 Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight a cry was heard: Behold the Bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him! Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, “Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out. The wise virgins had oil in their lamps and they were prepared when Jesus arrived. When He called, they were ready.

Jesus has an appointed time for us for His purpose. It’s not our timeline, but His. He has it calculated down to the second. Join with me as we wait on the Lord for His appointed time and His call. Let us fill our lamps with oil, gird our waists with a belt, and place sandals on our feet. Let us be ready for the call of God and go at once when we hear Him!