Waiting For God
A few weeks ago, I was in a private conversation with a minister friend, and he was telling me about the things that he was currently involved in doing. I asked him a very simple question, “Are you happy doing what you are doing now - do you feel fulfilled?” The question I asked is a pretty simple question to ask in any conversation, but in my conversations with the people I meet, this question cuts pretty deeply with many. Often times, the person I am speaking with goes from a smiling face to a much more serious look as soon as I ask the question. I recently attended a reunion of old classmates, and I came across an old friend who I have not seen in over thirty years. He was full of smiles, as was I, as we caught up with the many years since not seeing each other last. He proceeded to tell me about the business that he owned, and the years of schooling that it took for him to get there. I was very proud of him and his accomplishment in the professional business world, but when I asked him the cutting question above, the conversation became serious very fast. Outside, to the world, he seemed very happy with all the “things” he possessed, but he told me he was empty on the inside. He had not found his purpose yet. I told him that he would not find it merely in his profession. A door was opened…
Back to my discussion with my minister friend; his answer to my question was that he was not content in his current ministry position. It was not that he didn’t like what he was doing, but he felt in his spirit that he is supposed to become a pastor of a church. I told him I thought this was a wonderful call of the Lord, but I asked him what was he actually doing about the calling. His answer to me sounded very “pastoral,” but it didn’t set well within my spirit as the thing he should be doing. He said, “I’m waiting for the Lord. If it is His will, the door will be opened.” Now there is nothing wrong with this answer; the Bible does say, “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord (Psalm 27:14 NIV.)” One would think, if something is the Lord’s will, there’s nothing to do on our part; it should just happen, shouldn’t it? I pondered over that last question and my conversations for several days.
I admire the faith of many people and their prayers of faith. There are many New Testament Bible verses about the importance of faith. We read that several people were healed from disease and sickness by the Lord Jesus because of their faith, “Then Jesus answered, ‘Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.’ And her daughter was healed from that very hour (Matthew 15:28 NIV.)” With that being established, let me say that faith is HUGE in finding God’s direction for our lives. The Apostle James tells us, “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind (James 1:5-6).” So those were the thoughts going through my head about waiting for the Lord, and having the right amount of faith to see that His will is accomplished. My thoughts turned toward the “religious” group, Christian Scientist, who will not seek medical attention for their sick. They believe that if it is the Lord’s will, he will heal their sick followers through prayer. Very much like my ministry friend’s answer, this “seems” like a good religious answer, but I was not convinced that waiting on the Lord is His only will for our healing and direction.
I have a dear friend in a very tough marital situation right now. I know many prayers have been sent up to help in this circumstance, but I also know that prayers alone, without doing something like going to Christian counseling, will not heal the hurt marriage. The Lord created wonderful medical doctors for the sick bodies, and He made wonderful Christian counselors for the sick relationships. Now, understand that I have no doubt that the Lord CAN heal and open doors without our doing a single thing, but most of the time we need to make moves that coincide with our prayers. The healing of the daughter by Jesus mentioned above in Matthew 15:28 did start out with, “A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out… (Matthew 15:22).” The Canaanite woman took action by going to seek out Jesus.
Here is the message: If you are physically sick, go to the doctor. Now you may think, “That’s not very profound, Robby. Of course I would go to the doctor if I were sick.” I say, “Good, you and I are on the right track now. You understand about taking action.” In this same way, I encourage you to take action in seeking His will for your life. Yes, do pray about it a lot, but take action to peep through open doors. We first have to take action by going to the doors. The time for waiting for the Lord is after you have taken action in seeking His will. Be aware that all open doors are not necessarily opened by Him. This reminds me of a story of a young woman who was having marital problems much like my friend I discussed above. One meeting she proceeded to tell me, very excitedly, that she “just happened” to run into an old boyfriend, and she finally felt that familiar heart flutter of affection for someone again. She continued to explain to me that the Lord must want her to be with her old flame again by opening that door. I reminded her that we do have an enemy, and he knows how to turn doorknobs as well. Your spirit inside will tell you the truth when you peep through open doors, and you must always compare the Word of God to your direction.
This lesson is not about changing jobs or trading your spouse in for one that makes you happy. I must confess to you, as one of your Christian encouragers, a secret of mine: I’m not always happy. (Please don’t tell anyone that sees the “smiling” Robby on the street.) I, too, get frustrated in my paying job at times, and I, too, have arguments with my spouse. We all do! But through faith and prayer, and DOING something to make both better, my down periods are very short-lived. Do you want to know the slowest way to get out of depression, or not having a feeling of purpose? Keep it to yourself, and stay alone as much as you can. This is Biblical. Very early in Job’s trial he cried out, “I despise my life; I would not live forever. Let me alone; my days have no meaning (Job 7:16.)” He wanted everyone, including God to just leave him alone. Do you ever feel that way? I do. But being alone, and doing nothing, will get you nowhere real fast.
The quickest way to be encouraged is to encourage others. This is Biblical as well, “A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed (Proverbs 11:25.)” This is a verse of action; you must first do something in order to receive. No waiting here. Please understand this most importantly: If you have not accepted Jesus to be your Lord and your strength to endure, your emptiness will be a lord over you. Through Jesus, my conviction is to do my job as if I’m doing it for the Lord (Colossians 3:23-24), and through Jesus, my conviction to make up with my wife so my prayers aren’t hindered (1 Peter 3:7,) gets me back on track when I’m not happy. Without the Holy Spirit convicting me to take a high road of action, I would quickly end up like Job and just want to be alone in my misery. I could say, “Lord, I know it’s your will for me to get along with my wife, so I’m going to sit here and wait for you to deliver her.” That wouldn’t work! When I felt the calling of the Lord to be involved in ministry I didn’t only wait for Him, I went looking for open doors. Let me tell you here that many of the doors I stepped through were quickly closed, but I continued to take action looking for the right door.
I told you two paragraphs back what this lesson is not about. Here is what this lesson is about: Pray, believe, and do something! You may ask me, “Robby, is there a particular Bible passage that inspired this lesson of action, because it does make sense to me that if it were the Lord’s will, it would just happen.” I say I’m glad that you asked this question, because I was inspired this week in reading an Old Testament story. I have read this story before, but this time the questions that I have been asking as mentioned above, were answered by a particular Bible verse. I never understood this before.
The story is found in 2 Kings Chapter 20. Hezekiah is the king of Judah and, very importantly, the Bible says, “He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father David had done (2 Kings 18:3.)” You should take the time to read 2 Kings Chapters 18-20 about Hezekiah’s reign. The Lord delivered this faithful man from several trials. One of the trials was that Hezekiah became very sick, “In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to him and said, "This is what the Lord says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover (2 Kings 20:1.)” Now it’s a pretty bad sickness when a prophet, such as Isaiah, comes to say that the Lord says you’re going to die. The Lord meant it! But the Bible says, “Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, ‘Remember, O Lord, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes.’ And Hezekiah wept bitterly (v. 2-3.)” I love this! Here is a Bible verse that you should mark showing the power of private prayer. The Bible says that the Lord spoke to the prophet Isaiah before he left the palace grounds to return to the sick King Hezekiah: “Before Isaiah had left the middle court, the word of the Lord came to him: "Go back and tell Hezekiah, the leader of my people, 'This is what the Lord, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you (v.4-5.)” Hezekiah’s health was restored, and he lived to rule as king for another fifteen years. Now you may say, “Hey Robby, that just proves what I already believed about prayer and faith. Hezekiah prayed with faith that his healing would take place, and the Lord healed him. There wasn’t much ‘doing’ beyond that.” I say, hold on there, partner. I found it very interesting that the major prophet Isaiah, whom the Lord Jesus read from in His introduction to the temple many years later, gave directions for a course of action AFTER the Lord clearly said it was His will for Hezekiah to live. Isaiah could have said, “Now it is the Lord’s will for Hezekiah to live. Let us wait for the Lord.” However, the Bible says, “Then Isaiah said, "Prepare a poultice of figs." They did so and applied it to the boil, and he recovered (v. 7.)” They applied medicine to Hezekiah, and he recovered. This is after the God spoke and said that Hezekiah would live. It was the Lord’s will for Hezekiah to live, yet the prophet Isaiah gave directions for action that coincided with God’s will.
Today, I want to encourage you to seek the Lord’s perfect will for your life. Pray for His divine guidance as you approach doors of opportunity. Let this lesson be the nudge of inspiration to do something about your situation if you sense that you don’t have peace in where you presently stand. I pray that you become equipped with the courage needed to make a change. The writer of the Book of Hebrews tells us, “May the God of peace ... equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen (Hebrews 13:20-21.)” Go ahead now; do His will. No more waiting!
Robby
