Wait On God!

[Rev. Dr. Dorothy E. Hooks, PsyD]

No matter what it looks like, God loves you and He wants the best for you! God’s love is patient; God is love! God gives us all the chances in the world, for us to love Him back and want to fellowship with Him. 1 Corinthians 13:4 gives us the real definition of love; it describes God since He is love and shows us how we are to love one another. 1 Corinthians 13:4 says, “Love endures long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily” (biblegateway.com – Amplified Bible, Classic Edition [AMPC].

What does patient means? According to the New Oxford American Dictionary,patient’s definition is: “able to accept or tolerate delays, problems, or suffering without becoming annoyed or anxious.” I suggest you read this definition, until it sink into your spirit; asking Holy Spirit, to give you full revelation of what it mean so you can fully understand it. Go back now and read it again, before you continue.

The purpose of this message is to let you know, God hears you when you pray the first time; but He does not always answer you then. Remember, “…a thousand years is as one day…” with the Lord (2 Peter 3:8), so God does not look at time as we do.Just because God does not answer you instantly, does not mean He does not love you or that He is not concerned about your situation. Think naturally for a minute: if you have children, do you give your child EVERYTHING he or she asks for? When your child asks you for something, do you instantly give it to him or her ALWAYS? I hope not! Because you are setting that child up to be disappointed in the world! I know, I was a spoiled brat; I got everything I wanted when I was growing up!

My mother and father did not raise me; my great grandmother did and my aunts were my guardian too – I had the best of everything! But when I got married at the age of 19, I thought my husband was going to cater to me like my family did –NOTTTTTT!!! I was in for a rude awakening!

Not only did I expect him to give me what I wanted but others too; I did not want to hear the word, “NO!” I would throw a temper tantrum! Until I accepted Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior, I had it rough; I wanted my way! 

Even on jobs, if they did not do what I wanted or the way I wanted it done, I would walk off the job! Like I was hurting themJ! Nowadays, it is even harder for spoil brat children, so please, don’t raise your children to think they are privileged to the point where people cater to them or to think they can have everything they want; they will be disappointed!

As I said before, God loves us and don’t want to set us up to fail; He wants us to trust Him and know we cannot have everything we desire – all things we desire is not good for us and only God knows which things are good for us! Yes, the Bible do say that God will give us the desires of our heart, BUT, if our desires are not according to God’s will, we will not receive them! I have heard tell of someone praying for God to give them someone else’s husband! Now that is ludicrous! God is not going to do that! Somethings we know are silly but we have the nerve to ask God to do them! We are to pray according to God’s will, this or that be done; not pray foolish prays like that lady did. And when we pray according to God’s will, we are to wait for God to answer; no matter how long it takes – wait!

Philippians 4:6-7 tells us not to be anxious about anything but pray to God about everything and then when we pray, God’s peace, which goes beyond our understanding, will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus – we will be able to keep our mind stayed on Jesus and not allow worry or anxious thoughts to flow in our minds and flood our hearts! Then we will be able to take EVERY thought captive (2 Corinthians 10:5), that comes to our mind, to disrupt our peace, that God has given us. When God’s peace guard our hearts and minds, we will immediately know when the enemy comes and try to feed us junk – our peace will be disturbed!

We pray and then we patiently wait on God; we will be “able to accept or tolerate delays, problems, or suffering without becoming annoyed or anxious.” When we wait on God, He will give us His strength, as ours is being renewed! Isaiah 40:31 tells us, “But those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him] shall change and renew their strength and power; they shall lift their wings and mount up [close to God] as eagles [mount up to the sun]; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint or become tired” (biblegateway.com – AMPC). 

When we are going through, sometimes we have no strength but we can always depend on God to strengthen us. As God told Peter in 2 Corinthians 12:9, (8-9) after Peter prayed for God to remove the thorn in his flesh, He is telling us, "But He said to me, My grace (My favor and loving-kindness and mercy) is enough for you [sufficient against any danger and enables you to bear the trouble manfully]; for My strength and power are made perfect (fulfilled and completed) and [b]show themselves most effective in [your] weakness. Therefore, I will all the more gladly glory in my weaknesses and infirmities, that the strength and power of Christ (the Messiah) may rest (yes, may [c]pitch a tent over and dwell) upon me!” (biblegateway.com – AMPC - 2 Corinthians 12:7-10).

James 1:2-8 tells us to count is all joy, when we go through various trials because the testing of our faith, produces patience and we need patience to wait on God; there is a reason for everything that we go through! I am NOT saying everything we encounter is from God BUT, even the ugly things that happens to us, God take those things and turn them around for our good (Genesis 50:20; Romans 8:28). 

No matter what you are facing, make up in your mind once and for all, to wait patiently on God to move in your situation or circumstance; take your hands out the pot and let God do what He do! Release “It” to God once and for all! Have you heard the saying, “Too many cooks spoil the soup?” Well that is true; things will not be done well! If you going to do it, God will take His hands off and let you have it! God don’t need your help in fixing anything! God is a wise God and knows EXACTLY how to get you out of whatever it is you are facing but you got to trust Him to bring you out and speak His Word; don’t doubt in your heart – what is in your heart will come out your mouth (Luke 6:45)! God’s grace is sufficient to take you through EVERYTHING and ANYTHING, you face; you are NOT alone; God is with you (Isaiah 43:2). Therefore, cry out to God, ask Him for His strength as He is renewing yours and cry out to Holy Spirit to comfort you! Allow God to get to the ROOT CAUSE of your problem; until the root is destroyed, you will keep having the problem!

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God bless you and keep you and may His peace, guard your hearts and minds,

Dr. Dorothy E. Hooks